The Unforgettable Summer
by RedHal
Summary: Hedwig has been acting strange since the rise of Voldemort.  Apparently, 15 years ago, he had tried a new spell and she and her husband had been the victims.  Her plan had been to wait for Harry to turn 17, but with Voldemort back, Harry needs to be told
1. Animesepartatus

A/N: Okay. Let's get this part over with. I don't own Harry Potter. There. I said it.

Summary: After the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Hedwig starts acting weird. Harry lets her out to go hunting only to find that she's a witch trapped in a owl's body. If that isn't crazy enough, Crookshanks is her husband. To make things even more exciting, Priori Incantatum has some side-effects.

**Chapter 1: Animeseparatus**

"Hey girl." A 14 year old (almost 15) Harry Potter said to Hedwig when he came into his bedroom at Privet Drive that afternoon.

It had been a week since Harry left school.

Hedwig hooted in reply. Her master looked tired and it wasn't even noon.

"Aunt Petunia had me work all morning cleaning out the attic." He explained as he fell on his bed. "I did manage to find some stuff of my mother's. I put them somewhere safe."

He patted his pants' pockets

Hedwig started to pick at the lock.

"You want out?" Harry asked as he got up from his bed and quietly let her out.

She flew out the window.

0000

An hour later,

TAP TAP

Harry looked out his window and saw his owl with a thick book in her talons.

"Oh Hermione." Harry sighed as he let his owl into the room.

She dropped the book in his hands.

ANCIENT SPELLS

He opened the book to a page that had been nipped by Hedwig.

"Animeseparatus." He read. "A spell used to separate a human soul from the body. The body dies, but the soul is trapped in the body of…an animal."

He looked at his owl

"Is this what you've been trying to tell me all week?" Harry asked

She hooted affirmatively.

"Is there a counter?"

She nodded.

He looked back down onto the spell book and started flipping pages.

"This is amazing." Harry sighed. "These are spells that were lost according to Professor Flitwick."

"Here we go." Harry suddenly said. He frowned. "How do I know you're not a death eater?"

She hooted and nipped his ear affectionately as if to tell him,_ if I was, I would have betrayed you years ago and not give your godfather a single one of your letters._

"I can't use magic outside of school. You know that."

Hedwig hooted in understanding.

"But..." Harry realized. "If I sneak to the school…but how?"

Hedwig hooted and flew out the window.

0000

(This next scene is in animal language, but will be written in English for purposes of understanding.)

"Dear!" Hedwig said.

"What are you doing back?" Crookshanks asked as he opened the window with his paw. "Does Harry have a letter for Hermione?"

"Not yet. I told him."

"He knows?"

"Not fully. He just knows I'm really a witch trapped in an owl's body. He found the cure, but he can't use magic out of school."

"So, you're telling me you're going to become human again in September?"

"No. I'm asking you if you know any shortcuts to Hogwarts. Or even to the house, for humans. I can just fly there, but Harry is being watched constantly."

"And your not? There is a way." Crookshanks told the owl. "Go to the house. In our bedroom, there is a Gringotts key. It's gold and has a ruby on it. Give it to Harry and get him to Gringotts. In the vault, there is a portkey. It should lead him to the house. I think the ward is still there, so he can use magic."

"Thank you, Love." Hedwig said and flew out to get the key.

0000

(We're out of animal language now)

Hedwig flew back into Harry's room with the gold key with a ruby.

"Is this a Gringott's key?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Let's go." Harry said motioning the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Petunia asked as he opened the door.

"Out for a walk." He told her.

"No you're not. Marge is coming over, and we can't have you coming in. As far as she knows, you were kept back at St. Brutus."

She closed the door to his room on him and locked to padlock.

"When the door closes, a window opens." Harry said looking at the window and grabbing the Invisibility Cloak.

He climbed out the window and edged across the gutter to the tree in the backyard.

Hedwig rolled her eyes at how much this boy reminded her of someone she knew as a human.

"Help me out, Dad." He whispered before jumping to the tree.

He made it.

Hedwig was grateful that Mundungus was on duty and not someone more observant like Moody or Lupin.

0000

He put the cloak on and walked down the street. Hedwig was on his shoulder.

"You know I'm risking everything." He whispered to her. "You _better_ not be a Death Eater."

When he was a good distance from Privet Drive, he summoned the Knight Bus.

The triple-decker bus appeared instantly.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus." Stan greeted reading from a note card. "My name is…"

"Skip it." Harry said taking off the cloak. "Diagon Alley."

He handed him the Sickles.

"Diagon Alley, Ern." Stan told him.

0000

Two seconds later,

"DIAGON ALLEY!" Stan announced.

"Thanks." Harry said.

The boy and his owl walked over to the bank.

0000

"I need to make a withdrawal." Harry told the goblin.

"Key?" The goblin asked.

Harry handed him the key.

"A withdrawal?" the goblin asked.

"Or whatever you call going into a vault and getting something out." Harry said.

The goblin nodded.

"This way."

0000

"Vault 824!" the goblin announced.

Harry starred at the vault with the engravings of a lion, an eagle, and a badger on it.

The goblin opened the door and Harry walked in.

There was no gold. Just items.

"Still want to make a withdrawal, Mr. Potter?" the goblin asked.

"I think I'll just look." Harry said walking into the vault.

"Will you be using the portkey?"

Harry looked at his owl. She nodded.

"Yes."

"Very well." The goblin said handing the key to Harry and closing the door.

Torches automatically lit up. Harry looked around. Jewelry with diamonds, rubies, sapphires, topaz, emeralds, gold, silver, and every other type of precious stone was on display. Not only jewelry, but weapons. Swords, daggers, shields, and other things.

Harry found an empty display and read what had been there.

THE SWORD OF GODRIC GRYFFINDOR

"I hope you have an answer." Harry told his owl who was perched next to another sword that was present.

Harry walked over to it and lifted the sword from the display. He read the inscription and nearly dropped it.

EXCALIBUR

"This…this is…this is the sword of King Arthur!" Harry hyperventilated.

He carefully placed the sword back on the display and slowly backed away from it.

"This is too weird." He said. Then he stopped and thought about what he just said.

"Then again, my life has been too weird."

Hedwig hooted and motioned towards a small Head Boy Badge from back in the days of the Founders. She flew and landed on Harry's shoulder as he picked it up.

He felt the familiar tug at his navel.

0000

"Where am I?" Harry asked looking around.

He was on the front porch of a mansion. He saw a button for a doorbell and pushed it.

A few minutes later, the door creaked open.

"Master Harry Potter?" a small voice squeaked.

"I'm not so sure about "Master", but I am Harry Potter." Harry said.

The door swung wide open. It was a house-elf.

"Oh! Yous is looking so much like Master James Potter." She squeaked sadly.

"You knew my dad?" Harry asked.

"Oh yes Master Harry Potter." She told him.

"There's no need to call me Master. Just Harry will do nicely."

"Trixy dares not." She said frightened. "Did Master Harry Potter use magic to get here?"

"I can't use it during the school year. I'll be fifteen in a few weeks."

"Did not Master Harry Potter know that he can use magic in Potter Manor?"

"I can?" Harry asked looking at Hedwig.

The owl nodded and flew into the house.

"Hold on…POTTER MANOR?!"

0000

"Okay." Harry said brandishing his wand in the parlor. "I hope I know what I'm doing."

The look in Hedwig's eyes told him that she had faith in him.

Harry took a deep breath.

"Homoinumrursus!"

A gold light shot from his wand and hit the owl. She dropped to the floor unconscious.

Before Harry could run to her side, sparkles started forming around her. She grew in size. He wings turned into arms. Her snowy white feathers on her head turned into a deep red with streaks of gray as the other feathers turned tan and black. The black feathers turned into a robe.

The next thing Harry knew was that he was looking at a redheaded witch in her late fifties. She groaned as she came back into consciousness.

TBC


	2. Grimmauld Place

**Chapter 2: Grimmauld Place**

"I'm back to normal." She whispered and looked at the boy. "Thank you, Harry."

"Can I have some answers now?" he asked forgetting to lift his wand back up. He was in too much shock.

"I'll tell you more than you want to know." She said as she got onto the couch. "It's so nice to actually sit again and not perch."

"How long have you been an owl?" he asked.

"Almost fifteen years." She answered.

"Why did you wait until now to tell me you were really human?" Harry asked. "Why didn't you tell me as soon as I got you?"

Many reasons." She said. "You needed to learn more magic. I was going to wait until you were of age so that you could perform the transformation without the cover of ward, but with the rise of Voldemort…"

"You said his name!" Harry interrupted. Few people did.

"Of course I said it." She said. "I was almost in the Order of the Phoenix."

"The what?"

"The Order of the Phoenix. It's a group of witches and wizards that banded together to destroy Voldemort. My son and daughter-in-law were in it. My husband and I were going to be in it, but then there was the attack…"

"Why didn't he just kill you?"

"Voldemort wanted to try something new." She said. "He's going to be extremely disappointed considering how much he hated my husband and myself. His goal was to make us watch, as animals who couldn't do anything, him kill our son and his family, then kill us. However, his plan backfired."

"So, your husband is also trapped?"

"Yes. You know him as Crookshanks."

Harry was shocked.

"Is Pig trapped?" He asked seeing if any more of his friends' animals were originally human. Pettigrew was bad enough. "Or Trevor?"

"No. Pig is an ordinary owl. And Trevor is a normal toad."

"I should have asked this first." Harry said. "Who are you?"

"Elizabeth." She told him.

"Well, I was way off with your name." Harry sighed.

"Don't worry about it. Hedwig was my heroine. I was proud that you gave me that name."

"You do know I'll have to tell Dumbledore about you?"

"Of course. I miss Professor Dumbledore."

"Can you explain why King Arthur's sword was in that vault as well as Godric Gryffindor's sword?"

"Arthur's sword was given to the first Potter for safe keeping by the lady of the lake. My husband's other ancestor was Godric Gryffindor." She explained. "As well as Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff."

"Your husband is the "Heir of Hogwarts"?"

"No. That title goes to the eldest male of the youngest generation. My son had a son." She told him

"Oh."

"Why don't we go to the Order's headquarters?" she suggested. "I bet they are worried sick about you. But first…"

"What?"

"I can unleash some of your powers that are trapped, if you'd like."

"I have trapped powers?"

"One of them is wisdom."

Harry thought. What did he have to lose?

"Okay."

0000

A few hours later,

The full moon was starting to rise over the horizon. Harry and Elizabeth had spent the rest of the afternoon talking about the past. Finally, Elizabeth suggested that they head on to Headquarters.

"THIS is Order Headquarters?" Harry asked as he starred at Grimmauld Place.

"That's what Dumbledore said." Elizabeth told him before transforming back into Hedwig. This time at will.

Harry climbed a tree in the side yard thankful for the extra powers Elizabeth had released in him. He was now able to see past the fieldelus charm. Not to mention he now knew who Elizabeth really was.

When he got to an open window, he climbed into the house and looked around. He looked out into the halls and heard voices downstairs.

"Sirius! Quit pacing!" Arthur Weasley's voice came.

"I can't help it." Sirius told him. "Harry's missing. Only his owl, wand, and cloak gone. I'm a nervous wreck."

Harry winced. He didn't mean to scare Sirius like this. He went to the entrance of that room.

"Oh great." Sirius sighed looking at Harry. "Now I'm seeing things!"

"I'm really here, Padfoot." Harry told his godfather.

"HARRY!"

The Marauder ran to the boy and embraced him.

"Missed you too." Harry choked.

"Where have you been?" Arthur asked the boy sternly.

"Gringotts and Potter Manor. How come I was never told about that place?"

"We were waiting for you to be of age." Sirius told him. "How'd you find out?"

"Hedwig...well, really it's…"

"HARRY!"

Harry turned and saw Ron, Ginny, and Hermione come running out of the kitchen to him.

"Where were you?" Hermione asked as she hugged him.

"In the biggest library I've ever seen." Harry told her with a smirk.

"How big?" she asked.

"You can fill Hogwart's library twice over and still have room."

"Where is this Library?" she asked VERY interested.

"Potter Manor." Harry said

"Let's go!" she said as Ron groaned.

"Do you know where it is 'Mione?" Harry asked.

"You're going to lead the way." She told him.

"Nice try." Molly said as she entered. "You kids KNOW you are not to leave until the letters arrive. Harry. How nice to see you again."

"Likewise, Mrs. Weasley."

"Yes Ma'am." Hermione sighed dejectedly as Ron sighed with relief.

"Hey 'Mione?" Harry asked.

"Yes?"

"Have you ever wondered if Crookshanks was really a human trapped in a cat's body?"

"No."

"THAT'S why you were at Potter Manor!" Sirius exclaimed. "You wanted to test Hedwig, so you used the underage wards."

He quickly covered his mouth as he realized his mistake.

"Underage wards?" Ron, Ginny, and Hermione repeated.

"Did I say "Underage wards?" I meant…" Sirius tried to cover up as Molly glared at the wizard. "UnderAVERAGE wards. Not good for protection. So, what did you discover about Hedwig?"

"She was the victim of a spell that separates the soul from the body." Harry explained. "Her soul had been trapped as an owl for fifteen years."

He turned to the owl

"You want to show them?"

POP

The redheaded witch was now in the place of Hedwig.

"Bloody hell." Ron swore.

"Ron Weasley." Elizabeth acknowledged. "The last time I saw you when I was in human form was when your mother went into labor with you. You were the last child I delivered."

Ron blushed.

"You were a healer?" Hermione asked.

"One of the best." Elizabeth told her. "Then my daughter-in-law took that title."

Sirius and the Weasley adults were gapping at the older woman.

"Hello." She said to them.

Sirius made the attempt to say something, but no sound came out.

"Harry?" Molly asked with better luck. "Do you know who this woman is?"

"Elizabeth." Harry said.

"Honestly, Sirius." Elizabeth said looking at the still gapping Sirius. "Azkaban sure has changed you. You never had trouble speaking your mind before."

"Harry?" Sirius asked. "Do you know who this is?"

"I was just asked that!" Harry said.

Sirius then embraced the witch.

"I missed you so much." He cried, shocking the kids.

"I missed you too, Sirius." She told him returning the hug. "And Sirius, I don't blame you for my son's death."

"You should." He said with a sigh.

"You didn't know. And neither did he." She said.

"Elizabeth Potter?" a voice came from the kitchen.

Everyone turned to see Professor McGonagall standing there.

"Hello Minerva." Elizabeth said.

"POTTER?!" Ron, Hermione, and Ginny exclaimed.

"Did I forget to mention that I found out that my owl was really my grandmother?"

"Mew." Crookshanks spoke up.

"Oh yeah." Harry said pointing at the cat. "And he's my grandfather."

Elizabeth whipped out her wand. The two had stopped by Gringotts again and got her and her husband's wands.

"Homoinumrursus!"

The same thing happened to Crookshanks as what happened to Hedwig. However, instead of a redheaded woman with hazel eyes, a black haired man with brown eyes appeared.

TBC


	3. Surprise Side Effect

**Chapter 3: Surprise Side Effect**

"About time." The man said when he came too.

Harry starred at the man who looked like him.

"This is a surprise." McGonagall said.

To the children's amazement, she embraced Elizabeth and then Charles.

"We were best friends in school." Elizabeth explained. "Minerva, could you please tell Albus we're back."

"Of course, Elizabeth." Minerva said wiping a tear as she left the room.

"I have NEVER seen Minnie so emotional." Sirius said.

"You can tell who wasn't at James' funeral then." Arthur said to the kids.

"That was NOT…" Sirius started.

"…Your fault." Hermione finished. "We KNOW!"

I don't believe this!" Harry said. "My owl was my grandmother and one of my best friends' cat was my grandfather. What next?"

"Excellent question, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore's voice came from the kitchen.

Everyone turned to see the headmaster standing in the doorway.

"You gave us quite a scare." Dumbledore told the youngest Potter.

"Sorry. I just felt that Hed…I mean Grandmother spent long enough in an owl's body."

"Your just lucky that it was your Grandmother." Charles said to his grandson. "Goodness, you look JUST like James and me."

"I've heard." Harry said shyly. "Well, at least the I "look like James" part."

"But you don't act like him." Charles added.

"Do you want to bet?" Elizabeth asked. "When Harry snuck out of the house early today, it reminded me of that time when James did the same thing that one summer when he went to go practice his animagus transformation."

Silence

"You KNEW about that?" Sirius finally asked shocked.

"Yes." She told him. She then turned to Harry.

"I told you I can tell you more than you want to know."

"What else do you have?" Harry challenged.

She leaned down and whispered something in his ear before motioning to McGonagall. He paled and his mouth dropped.

"No way!" he said "Really?"

Elizabeth nodded.

"What did she tell you?" Sirius asked nervously.

"How come you never told me?" Harry asked McGonagall.

"You TOLD him about that?" McGonagall asked Elizabeth.

"I think he has a right to know." Elizabeth said. "He's not a kid anymore."

"Hold on." Harry said turning back to his teacher. "You would check up on me, wouldn't you?"

"Of course." McGonagall admitted.

"Huh?" Ginny asked.

"I just remembered that Mrs. Figg had a cat named Minnie." Harry said. "And she looked JUST like Professor McGonagall's animagus form."

"What's the big secret, Minnie?" Sirius asked.

"Don't call me that, Mr. Black." She warned.

"What?" Ron asked

Harry whispered the information to his friend.

It was Ron's turn to pale.

"No bloody way." Ron swore. "She's you dad's godmot…?"

KNOCK KNOCK

Everyone got quiet.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Everyone looked at each other. Who was here?

"KRECHER! WOULD YOU OPEN THIS ----- DOOR!? I ORDER YOU AS BEST FRIEND OF…" a male voice yelled from the outside while pounding the door. "OUCH!"

"LANGUAGE!" a female voice said. "You've been around Alastor too long."

"Allow me." Dumbledore volunteered.

Everyone followed the headmaster to the front door.

Dumbledore opened the door a crack and peeked out.

"Professor?" A younger third voice asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Let me guess." The first voice said. "Padfoot lent you his…family home."

Sirius snorted.

"Family home my arse." He whispered not realizing that the first voice had used his nickname.

"Would you please prove you're who you claim to be?" Albus asked the man.

"You're my godfather! I shouldn't need to prove anything to you!" The man said.

Elizabeth and Charles gasped. They now recognized the voice.

"Just do it." The second voice said.

"Fine." The first voice said. "What do you want to know?"

"Transform." Dumbledore said. He had his suspicions

Pause

"You know about that?" the voice asked hesitantly. "I'm dead."

"What does he mean?" a fourth asked.

POP

"Welcome back." Dumbledore said allowing the three cloaked figures and a stag into the house.

POP

The stag transformed into another cloaked figure.

"YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO, MISTER!" the second voice turned to the first.

"About what, Love?" he asked innocently.

"YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT!"

"Can you please not yell?" Sirius asked leaving the hiding place while pointing to a covered portrait. "My mother."

"Yes. PLEASE don't yell." The first voice begged. He met Mrs. Black when she was alive. He turned back to Sirius "Padfoot?"

"Who are you?" Ginny asked as she came out.

The third and fourth person took off their cloaks while the other two started arguing again. Harry nearly had a heart attack.

Cedric Diggory and Bertha Jorkins were standing there in front of him.

Harry's mind started working. If Cedric and Bertha were back, and there were two other unknown people…and one of them had called his godfather "Padfoot"…

"Bloody hell." Harry swore when he figured it out.

He then turned to his friends.

"Hermione? Ron?" Harry whispered.

"Yes?" They answered.

"Catch me." Harry said.

Before they could ask what he meant, he fainted into their arms.

"Dumbledore!" a voice said coming from the kitchen. "The Dark Lord lost connection with …"

Severus Snape trailed off when he saw Cedric Diggory and Bertha Jorkins talking to Dumbledore and Ginny Weasley, and two other cloaked figures were arguing. Sirius, Arthur, and Molly looked ready to faint and, in the shadows, Hermione and Ron were supporting an unconscious Harry. A man and a woman who looked like James Potter's parents were tending to Harry.

"What's going on here?" Snape asked.

"Sniv…I mean Severus?" the man still in the cloak asked just as his wife started to glare at him.

"Potter." Snape sneered as he recognized the voice

The two took off their cloaks to reveal James and Lily Potter.

Harry came to, but went back unconscious when he saw his parents and Cedric again.

"Here." Charles said picking the boy up. "He's awfully light."

"You can blame those relatives of his." Elizabeth said.

"Mum? Dad?" James Potter asked when he saw them, but didn't see Harry due to the shadows. "I thought…"

"Voldemort just separated our souls from our bodies." Elizabeth said as Charles moved Harry into the living room. "The souls were placed in animal bodies where we stayed like that for fifteen years until tonight."

"Why tonight?" Cedric asked.

"The counter was said." She explained. "But what happened with you guys?"

"We were trapped in Voldemort's wand." Lily explained. "Then last week, we were released. We saw Harry fighting Voldemort. Please tell me he made it to the portkey."

"He did." Ginny said.

"If my body was where it was, then he did." Cedric confirmed.

"Where is Harry?" Molly asked looking around.

"Harry's here?" Lily asked.

"Charles moved him to the living room." Elizabeth explained. "He fainted."

"Can you blame the boy?" McGonagall asked.

"Where's Moony?" James asked Sirius.

"Full moon." Sirius told him.

0000

Harry groaned as he came to.

"Wha…Where am I?" Harry asked.

"You're in the living room at Grimmauld Place." Charles explained

"Was I dreaming?" Harry asked his grandfather as he sat up.

"No. You really did see your parents alive."

Instead of getting excited like Charles expected, he looked rather upset.

"Harry?" Charles asked.

"They wouldn't want me." Harry said not looking Charles in the eyes.

"What? Harry? Where did you ever come up with that theory?"

"Because Voldemort wants ME. He'll just…"

Harry got up from the couch and ran up the stairs to a bedroom. Just in time for the others to enter the living room.

"What's going on?" Lily asked. "And I want to know everything."

"Well," Sirius started. "It all started the Halloween you guys were killed…"

TBC

A/N: It didn't seem fair that I brought James' parents back without bringing Harry's. By the way, I haven't forgotten about Heir of Hogwarts. It's written, just not typed.


	4. Bedside Chats and Nightmares

**Chapter 4: Bedside Chats and Nightmares**

In Harry's bedroom (which was really Sirius') a few hours later,

Harry was holding a pillow tight to his chest with his back toward the headboard when he heard a knock on the door. Within the few hours, he had heard his parents yelling in shock as his life story was revealed. Or at least, parts of it.

"Go away." Harry said.

"Harry. May I have a word with you?" Dumbledore's voice came.

Harry sighed.

"Sure."

The door opened and Dumbledore stepped in.

"Your grandfather told me what happened." Dumbledore said.

He held the pillow tighter.

"I believe I owe you an explanation." Dumbledore said. "When you were in the hospital wing after your encounter with Voldemort during your first year, you asked me a question that I felt it wasn't time for you to know the answer. Your parents, their friends, and your grandparents convinced me that you are now old enough. You asked why Voldemort tried to kill you in the first place."

"I'm listening." Harry said looking at the bed.

"A prophesy had been made concerning you and Voldemort. I have it in my pensieve, but the gist of it is a boy, with the ability to defeat Voldemort, will be born at the end of July to parents who are in the Order of the Phoenix. .And this boy would be marked by Voldemort as his equal and shall have powers that Voldemort does not know of. Your grandmother told me that you know about the Order."

Harry nodded.

"THAT is why Voldemort went after your parents that night." Dumbledore said. "The Death Eater who overheard the seer and myself that night only caught the first part."

"So…it's MY fault Mum and Dad died in the first place."

"You misunderstand me Harry." Dumbledore said placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Your parents made the decision to bring you into this world. The Death Eater who overheard the prophesy made the decision to tell Voldemort. Your godfather made the decision to suggest the switch. Your parents made the decision to go through with the switch. Peter Pettigrew made the decision to betray his friends. Voldemort made the decision to go after you and your family. Sirius made the decision to go after Pettigrew before coming to me. You had no say in the events whatsoever. After all, you were only an infant."

Harry was silent.

"Here is a ray of hope in light of these recent events." Dumbledore said. "Because of the return of Lily Potter, the blood protection has been transferred. You no longer have to return to the Dursleys. I shall send some members to retrieve your belongings."

"Can you tell them to look under the floor board under the bed?" Harry asked as Dumbledore started to leave. "If they find a blank piece of parchment, tell them to just pack it."

"Would this be the map Mr. Crouch was talking about?"

"Yes sir." Harry admitted.

"Wish you had it your first year?"

"You have no idea." Harry told him remembering how he had been late to his first Transfiguration class.

Dumbledore left Harry to his thoughts.

0000

An hour later,

KNOCK KNOCK

"Who is it?" Harry asked.

"Sirius."

"Come in."

"You're supposed to say "Sirius who?"" His godfather told him as he entered.

Harry managed a smile.

"I thought I could get you laughing." Sirius said.

"I'm not laughing. I'm smiling." Harry told him.

"There's a difference?" Sirius joked.

"You seem happy." Harry told his godfather.

"Of course. You're here; I have my best friend back; He doesn't blame me. To think, today, I went from depressed, to panicky, to happy, to shocked, to worried, then to ecstatic." 

"Why all those?" Harry asked.

"Because I was stuck in this…place." Sirius told him. "Then I got word that you vanished, then you showed up which made me happy. I was shocked because of the revival of not only your grandparents, but also your parents. Worried because I didn't think your dad would forgive me for suggesting the switch. Ecstatic because he's forgiven me, even though he said there was nothing to forgive."

"I could have told you that."

"That's not the best part. Now with Prongs back, he's going to try to get my named cleared." 

"That's good." Harry said looking at the bed.

"What's wrong, Prongslet?" Sirius asked.

"With Dad back, you have no reason to care about me anymore." Harry told him.

"Where did you…Oh. This is one of those self-degrading moments courtesy of the Dursleys. Harry. I will ALWAYS care about you."

Harry hugged his pillow tighter.

Sirius tried to think of something to say that would cheer the boy up.

"Hey. Did you know that when your Dad pounded on the door a few hours ago, it reminded me of when he, Wormtail, Moony, and I were locked in the girls' bathroom?"

"Really?"

"To make things worse, it was Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. We should go back to Hogwarts and do it to him again. Maybe even to you."

"I know a way out." Harry told him.

"Do what again?" a second voice asked from the open door.

James Potter was standing at the door leaning on the frame.

Harry buried his head in his pillow. He wasn't ready.

"Lock you and your son in Myrtle's bathroom." Sirius told his best friend.

"Please no." James Potter shuddered as he walked in. "Last time, Myrtle started crushing on me."

"I thought you liked it when girls threw themselves at your feet."

"Yeah. But I preferred them my age, redheaded, alive, and named 'Lily'. Although I have yet to see Lily throw herself at my feet."

He suddenly saw his son with his face buried in the pillow.

"Is…" James started to asked pointing at the boy.

Sirius nodded.

"Harry?" James asked.

Harry just tensed as he worried about being rejected.

Sirius climbed around Harry and made room for James so he could sit next to Harry on the bed.

James hesitated, but eventually managed to put a hand on Harry's back. He felt the boy tense even more at the touch, but he left his hand there and started rubbing Harry's back. Déjà vu hit James like an anvil as he remembered doing the same thing to Harry when he was younger.

Harry relaxed at the soothing motion.

"Be careful Prongs." Sirius warned him. "Remember the last time you did that? If you rub too long…"

It was too late. Between the relaxing motion of his father's hand rubbing his back and how tired he was after a long day, Harry fell over into his father's arms as he fell asleep.

"Still have the magic touch." Sirius teased as he remembered Harry falling asleep on James' shoulders fourteen years ago after James rubbed Harry's back to calm the crying infant.

James wasn't listening. He was too enthralled at how much Harry looked like him. With Harry relaxed, he wasn't holding onto the pillow as tightly. Sirius had taken the pillow away to reveal Harry's face to James.

"Let's get him to bed." Sirius suggested. "He had a long day."

After a few minutes, the two Marauders got the sleeping boy into some pajamas and tucked under the covers. Glasses on the nightstand.

"We'll move him in with Ron tomorrow." Sirius said. "He needs sleep right now."

James wasn't listening again. He was caressing his son's face. Suddenly, his eyes fell on the scar. He fingered it curiously.

"That's the place." Sirius told him. "That's where the curse hit him."

"He's been through so much." James sighed.

"You don't know the half of it." Sirius said.

0000

Three in the morning,

"NO!" Harry yelled in his sleep. "NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

"Harry!" Sirius called as he ran into the bedroom. "Harry! Wake up!"

"No!" Harry whimpered still asleep. "Cedric."

"What's wrong?" Cedric asked sleepily as he entered.

"Nightmares about the Third Task." Elizabeth explained as she, Charles, James, and Lily came into the room. "He's had them all week. I could never comfort him because I was in the cage."

"My poor baby." Lily cried as she went to join Sirius in trying to wake Harry up. "Harry. Wake up."

"Mum. Dad." Harry said in his sleep. "No. Don't go."

"We're not going anywhere." Lily said. "Why won't he wake?"

"NO!" Harry called in his dream. "RON! HERMIONE! GINNY! GET OUT OF HERE! REMUS! SIRIUS!"

"JAMES!" Lily cried out.

"I'm right here." James told her with a wince. She had yelled practically in his ear.

"Get your son calmed down." She ordered. "Sirius said you still had your magic touch."

James pulled his son into a sitting position and held the sleeping boy in his arms while laying Harry's head on his shoulder.

"No." Harry whimpered. "Don't do it."

"Shh." James said rocking the boy while rubbing his back. "It's okay Harry. Lils. We might need your part as well."

She nodded and stroked Harry's hair.

"It's okay." She whispered to her son. "We won't let anything happen to you."

Harry relaxed as the voices brought back a lost memory in the form of a dream.

"_Shh." A twenty-year old James said holding a crying baby Harry. "Don't cry. I know you don't feel well. But you need to take a nap for the medicine to kick in."_

"_We won't let anything happen to you, Sweetheart." A twenty-year old Lily added as she stroked the baby's head that was lodged on his father's shoulder. _

"How did you do that?" Ron asked as he saw his friend relax.

"Parental touch." Molly told him. "Back to bed, everyone."

James started to lay Harry back down, but Harry subconsciously grabbed on to James' robe.

"Um. I think I'm stuck here." James said.

"You guys go onto bed." Lily told the others. "We'll stay with Harry."

They nodded and left.

James and Lily continued to comfort their distraught son.

"Don't go." Harry said in his sleep. "Don't leave me again."

"We won't." James answered.

"I still can't get over how much he looks like you." Lily whispered.

"Except for the scar and he's a bit thinner." James corrected. "And from what I've heard, he still has your eyes."

"From what you've heard? You came here earlier to check on him."

"He had his face buried in a pillow." James explained. "Then he fell asleep."

Silence

"Why don't you go onto bed?" James said

"I'll go when you go." Lily told him

TBC


	5. Waking Up

**Chapter 5: Waking Up**

A few hours later,

Harry groaned as he woke up.

Harry didn't know what to do. He had just had a series of nightmares and suddenly the nightmares turned into better dreams. He woke up sitting up while gripping onto someone's robe. Whoever's robe he was holding was holding him tightly while another person had his or her hand rested on his arm. There was also a weight on his head. (James' head was resting on Harry's)

For the first time in fourteen years, Harry Potter felt truly safe.

Then Harry realized with a start who these people were.

They were James and Lily. His parents.

Harry reached and grabbed his glasses without disturbing his father. However, his mother's hand fell off his arm. It laid on the bed as she remained asleep.

He looked up and saw his mother asleep on James' shoulder. Her red hair draped across her face like a veil.

Suddenly, the door creaked open.

"Awww." Molly sighed.

"Where's a camera?" Sirius asked

"Leave them alone, Sirius." Arthur told him

"You know, this is the first time in fourteen years I've seen those three together." Sirius said.

"You saw them last night." Arthur reminded him

"But this time all three are peaceful. Harry was distraught last night."

"What do you think that nightmare was?" Molly asked

"Probably last week mixed in with Halloween of '81 with a touch of some other part of the past we haven't been told about." Arthur told her.

"You make it sound like a dish. I need to grab my clothes. I knew I should have put a sign that said "Padfoot's Room.""

"Harry needed some time alone. He had an…interesting day yesterday."

"I know. Grandparents and parents back in the same day. He deserves it though."

Harry saw his godfather quietly tiptoe into the room towards the wardrobe as the Weasleys left.

"No wonder they called you 'Padfoot'." Harry teased.

Sirius turned quickly and saw Harry awake, but still in the same position he had been in three hours ago.

"What are you doing up at six in the morning during Summer break?" Sirius asked.

"What are YOU doing up?"

"I am an adult with things to do."

"I have homework." Harry retorted.

"You are definitely Lily's son." Sirius stated.

Harry gave him a curious look

"James always had his homework done on the train home from school." Sirius stated as he sat down next to Lily. "Then he left it alone until September. That way he could not say that he did homework over the summer. Of course, your father was never one to boast about his academic abilities. His Quidditch abilities, but not academic. Your mother, on the other hand, spent a month reviewing her work."

Lily groaned and made herself more comfortable on James' shoulder. This caused Sirius to snicker.

"If we could go back in time to our fifth year, and tell Lily what we are witnessing what now, she would laugh in our faces." Sirius stated.

"Why?" Harry asked trying to escape from James' clutches. James only tightened his embrace.

"She hated his guts." Sirius told his godson.

Harry raised his eyebrows skeptically.

"It's true." Sirius said. "Ask Remus, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Shacklebolt, Snape, anyone who went to school with us."

"So, why did she marry him? Not that I'm complaining."

Sirius laughed his bark-like laugh, amazingly not waking up the older Potters.

"She began to tolerate your father after he deflated his big head. He had an ego the size of Potter Manor in fifth year. Of course, that was only an act due to the fact half the girls liked bigheaded men. Lily doesn't know that though."

"What don't I know?" Lily groaned as she started to wake up.

She yawned and stretched. As she stretched, she whacked Sirius in the face.

"OW!" Sirius said covering his nose.

"I'm so sor…!" she started to apologize before realizing who she hit. "Oh. It's you. That's okay then."

"How did Dad get her to agree to make you my godfather?" Harry asked Sirius as Lily yawned

"'The responsibility will be good for Sirius.'" Lily quoted.

"I dink you boke by node." Sirius said to Lily.

"You are such a baby." She said giving him a playful shove.

"I prefer the term, "Big Kid", Lilikins." Sirius told her.

His nose wasn't broken.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"This is a typical day." Sirius told Harry. "I vote we wake Prongs up."

"How?" Harry asked.

"Graduation and Wedding way." Sirius stated.

"NO!" Lily told him. "Remus told me about that way. Those times, you blamed him. Besides, you'll get Harry wet."

"Fine. Plan B." Sirius said dejectedly.

POP

If Lily had not been told the night before about the animagus thing, James would have been woken up by her screaming. Instead, he was woken by the wet tongue of his best friend.

"Ew. Padfoot!" James scolded when he woke up. "That is disgusting."

James let Harry go and wiped his face.

Sirius looked and saw Lily looking at Harry, but Harry was looking away from her and James. Sensing that mother and son needed **some** time alone, Sirius grabbed James' wand from the robe pocket with his teeth and ran out of the room. James would have plenty of alone time with Harry if Sirius had anything to say about it.

"GET BACK HERE, PADFOOT!" James yelled chasing after the Grim-like mutt.

Padfoot just kept on running.

"DON'T MAKE ME USE WANDLESS!" James threatened as he ran down the hall.

"They never change." Lily said looked at the door.

Harry kept looking away.

"Harry?" she asked.

"I'm sorry." Harry apologized.

"For what?" Lily asked.

"For killing you." Harry explained.

"Harry. You didn't do ANYTHING concerning that time era. Except keep your father and I up half the night." Lily told him.

"You don't blame me?" Harry asked.

"Only people we blame are Voldemort and Peter." Lily told him. "We love you, Harry. You are the last person we'd blame. If anything, you tried to warn us. I should have realized something was up when you would act uncomfortable around Peter."

Harry stopped listening at the "we love you". He had not heard anyone say those words to him in a long time. People have hinted and made references, but had never actually SAID it.

Padfoot came the closest.

"I don't deserve this." Harry said with tears forming in his eyes. "I told Cedric to take the cup with me. I told Sirius and Remus to spare Peter's life which allowed him to escape. I convinced Ron and Hermione to go down the trapdoor with me…"

"What don't you deserve?" Lily asked.

"A second chance." Harry told her. "My family back. To be loved."

"Come here." She told him as she inched closer to him and pulled him into a hug.

He had received a hug a few weeks ago from Mrs. Weasley, but that was nothing like being hugged by his biological mother as she stroked his hair soothingly.

"I was so scared when I woke up," He told her. "That yesterday had only been a dream." 

"Would have been better than those nightmares though."

"Actually, I think the nightmares were better. They don't give me any false hopes."

"Harry. Dreams are just ways to look into your heart. True, it does no good to dwell on them, but they do give you a start with a goal."

Harry took a deep breath and made the decision to finally look into his mother's eyes. He pulled out of the embrace and looked at her.

Other than a little bit older, she looked JUST like those pictures he found twenty-four hours ago in his aunt's attic. Her bright green eyes shone with happiness, worry, pride, and love.

Lily, however, saw dull green eyes filled with pain, sorrow, and fear. She did manage to glimpse a small dose of joy and hope.

"You've been through so much." She told him as she caressed his cheek.

"You don't know the half of it." Harry told her.

"I want to hear it." She said. "I don't care if it's something I won't like. I need to hear what you've been doing to yourself. Your grandfather told us how light you were. Your father also noticed it last night when we were calming you from your nightmares."

"Dudley's on a diet." Harry explained his weight. "Aunt Petunia has everyone on the same diet. Nothing but grapefruit."

He then chuckled.

"Dudley's actually gaining weight on that diet." He added.

Lily gave a small laugh.

"I don't want to hear about my nephew. I want to hear about my son."

TBC


	6. Getting to Know You

**Chapter 6: Getting to Know You**

The door opened. Lily and Harry both turned to see James looking quite pleased with himself as he twirled his wand.

"Let's just say that Padfoot decided to get a different hairdo." James told them.

"You do realize that you started a prank war in this house." Lily informed her husband.

"He's the one who started it." James argued.

"You might want Fred and George to help." Harry told him.

"What about…"

"…us?"

Fred and George were passing the bedroom and heard their names.

"Prank war between James Potter and Sirius Black." Harry told them.

"Wicked." They said.

"If you need any help.…"

"…see us."

"Oh no." Lily groaned.

NEVER offer help to James Potter.

"I don't need any help." James told them. "You wouldn't believe half the pranks I pulled back in school."

"I think they would." Harry told him. "Fred and George have pulled some interesting pranks in school. Fred. George. Tell Dad where you got your ideas."

"You know we don't reveal…"

"…our sources."

"You can trust him." Harry said with a smirk. "He is a fellow prankster."

"Really?" Fred asked.

James nodded.

"AND he went to school around the same time as your heroes." Harry added.

"You went to school with The Marauders?" Fred and George asked.

"The…Marauders?" James repeated in shock. "Yeah."

Lily groaned.

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs." Fred said.

"We owe them so much." George added.

"I'm not so sure about Wormtail." Harry whispered.

"So, you are Marauder fans?" James asked.

"We worship them." George corrected.

Lily buried her face in her hands. This was the LAST thing James needed.

"Let's see what you have." James challenged. "I want you two to pull a prank on Sirius Black. If you succeed, I will tell you about the Marauders."

"You knew the Marauders?" Fred asked.

"I went to school with them." James reminded them of what Harry said before adding, "They were in Gryffindor with me."

The twins were gone in a heartbeat

"They are going to have heart attacks." Harry laughed.

"And Molly is going to KILL you." Lily told her husband.

"Calm down." James told his wife.

He then sat down on the bed next to Harry.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

Harry nodded and looked into the hazel eyes of his father.

They were filled with joy, love, pride, and mischief. However, these emotions quickly turned to worry and confusion when James saw the dullness of Harry's eyes.

"You HAVE had a rough life." James pointed out.

"It's been going up and down." Harry shrugged.

"So." James said trying to strike up conversation. "Tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything. Favorite class."

"Lately it's been Defense. Before it had been Quidditch."

Lily groaned. That was Sirius' and James' answer when her father asked them.

"Quidditch isn't a class." She told him.

"You haven't played with Oliver Wood." Harry told her.

Sirius had told Mr. Evans that he hadn't played with James Potter.

"How about favorite teacher?" James asked.

"Professor Lupin. Hands down." Harry replied with a grin.

"Lupin?" James asked. "Remus Lupin? Moony Lupin? Sandy brown hair, amber eyes, werewolf, and has a really bad habit of making sense?"

"Do you know any other Lupins?" Lily asked.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Who is it?" Lily asked.

"Gred and Feorge."

"Come in." Harry called.

Fred and George walked in.

"We pranked him." They said in unison.

"I'll be right back." James said leaving the room.

Prongs had to see this for himself.

He came back a few minutes later laughing.

"Nice one. Using an unbreakable net to hoist Sirius in the air in front of the portrait of his mother. For that, you get the biggest secret. The identities of the Marauders."

Fred and George sat down on the bed and leaned in. This was the most attention Harry had ever seen Fred and George give ANYONE.

"Where's a camera?" Harry whispered. "This is going to be good."

"Wormtail's identity is Peter Pettigrew."

The twins' mouths dropped in shock. One of their heroes had turned Death Eater?

"Moony is really Remus Lupin."

They gasped. They had been taught by a Marauder.

"Padfoot is Sirius Black."

Their mouths dropped further. They had just pranked a Marauder.

"And last, but not least:"

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Prongs is…."

He paused from dramatic emphasis. They leaned in.

"Yours truly."

George started hyperventilating and Fred fainted. They were in the presence of a Marauder.

"Nice going, Dad." Harry said sarcastically.

"Enervete." James said pointing his wand at the unconscious twin.

"YOU'RE Prongs?" they asked.

"Guilty as usual." James said _**almost**_ modestly

"We are not worthy." They said getting on their knees and bowing.

"Relax." James said forcing the twins up. "That was QUITE a prank. If you can prank Padfoot, you are worthy."

"Did you know?" Fred asked Harry.

"Yes. I have you two to thank." Harry told them. "If you hadn't given me the map, then Professor Lupin never would have confiscated it…"

"WHAT?!" James interrupted

"…he never would have confiscated it," Harry repeated before he continued. "And have seen Wormtail and Padfoot on it. When he admitted that he knew it was a map, he told us that he helped to make it."

"Why didn't you tell us?" George asked.

"You never asked." Harry admitted.

"Breakfast." Molly announced sticking her head in the door.

"Let's go down to eat." James said.

"Before we go down," Harry said. "There is something Dad needs to know about Professor Snape."

"Professor?" James asked in horror. "That git teaches?"

Sirius had "conveniently" forgotten to tell the Potters that small detail

"This won't end well." Lily predicted.

0000

At breakfast a few seconds later,

"WHAT?!" Everyone heard a voice from upstairs. "HE SAVED YOUR LIFE?! ARE YOU CERTAIN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE SAME SNAPE HERE?"

Sirius laughed at James' reaction. He remembered reacting quite the same way when he discovered that bit of information.

Flashback

"_I can't believe Snivellus is in the Order." Sirius pouted after the first Order meeting since early October of 1981._

"_Would you calm down." Remus said. "He's on our side."_

"_Prove it." Sirius challenged._

"_Dumbledore told me that Snape saved Harry's life his first year." Remus accepted the challenge._

"_WHAT?! YOU'RE KIDDING! SNAPE _SAVED_ HARRY'S LIFE? I THOUGHT HE HATED HARRY! ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THE SAME SNAPE?! GREASY HAIR? HOOKED NOSE? SLYTHERIN?"_

End Flashback

The twins and the Potters came down the stairs.

"Thanks for looking after Harry his first year." James reluctantly told Snape.

"Don't get used to it." Snape told him.

Suddenly, Charlie Weasley came running into the dinning room.

"Bad news." He said. "You know how last night was the Lunar Eclipse?"

"Yes." Everyone answered.

James and Sirius were especially worried. Lunar Eclipses had a weird effect on werewolves. They tend to get more wolf-like than a regular werewolf, except much more vicious. And werewolves who were werewolves longer were even more dangerous. However, the Wolfsbane potion decreased the chances of that happening.

Remus was one of the few werewolves with access to the potion.

And he was around those with limited to no access.

"Remus….We managed to find him….but, he's in critical condition."

Flashback

_Charlie was working with Bill on Order business_

"_So, how are things going with Fleur?" Charlie teased._

"_Here English is improving." Bill said._

_Charlie looked out the window at the full moon._

"_That's odd." Charlie said._

"_What?" Bill asked_

"_the moon is red."_

"_Lunar eclipse."_

_Charlie's eyes widened._

"_What's the matter?" Bill asked his younger brother._

"_Did Remus take his Wolfsbane?"_

"_Yeah. Before he left. Why?"_

"_And he's out there with the other werewolves who don't have access?"_

"_Ye…"_

_Bill stopped talking as they realized where his brother was going._

_Both redheads left the safety of Charlie's apartment._

_0000_

_Around where the werewolves hung out._

"_Are you sure this is safe?" Bill asked._

"_If anything happened to Remus, Sirius Black will really go mad." Charlie said thinking how the ex-convict would react. "After all, Remus and Harry are all he has left." _

"_Look!" Bill said pointing his lit wand at a form on the street._

_Charlie followed and saw a werewolf gasping for breath._

"_He looks hurt." Bill observed._

"_It's Remus." Charlie said. "Sirius told me how to recognize him."_

"_What now?" Bill asked._

_They had two choices. One, they could get Moony out of the area (which was cold and wet), which meant being in close proximity with a werewolf. Two, they could leave Moony there until morning._

_Suddenly, there was a werewolf howl in the distance. Apparently, whoever had defeated Moony was announcing it._

_The two brothers looked at each other and nodded. Moony was in no condition to bite anyone. And helping a werewolf would be much safer than telling Sirius._

End Flashback

"Where is he?" James asked worriedly.

"We took him to Hogwarts. We knew Madame Pomfrey isn't as prejudice as some healers at Mungos. We stayed close until he transformed back. He remained unconscious all night. He still is."

"Good thinking, Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore said getting up.

"Get dressed, Harry." James said. "We're going to Hogwarts."

Harry was looking extremely pale.

"Wait…You're…" Charlie realized when he got a good look at James and Charles.

"James Potter. At your service." James said. "And my father, Charles."

Charlie Weasley fainted

TBC


	7. How to be an Animagus in 4 Weeks

**Chapter 7: How to be an Animagus in Four Weeks**

In the Hospital Wing,

"Moony?" Remus heard the voice of James Potter ask as he stirred.

"Prongs? Am I dead?" Remus asked with his eyes still closed.

"No."

"Are you a ghost?" Remus asked.

"Let me check." The voice of Lily Potter said.

THUD

"OW!" James yelled.

"He's solid." Lily told Remus.

Remus opened his eyes and saw James, Sirius, and Lily sitting next to him. James was rubbing his head glaring at his wife while Sirius and Lily laughed.

"What happened?" Sirius asked the werewolf when he calmed down.

"Like I remember." Remus said sarcastically while wincing in pain. "Probably an Alpha fight. Less about that. Would someone PLEASE tell me what Lily and James are doing here?"

"Nice to know you still care." James said with a false hurt voice. "I missed you too, Moony."

"How do I know you're really James Potter?" Remus challenged.

"How do you know I'm not?" James responded.

"James Potter died fourteen years ago."

"Priori Incantatem had a side effect." Harry said as he entered the room. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm not so sure yet." Remus said trying to sit up.

"You're hurt." Lily said keeping the werewolf down. "You need to rest."

"It's not THAT bad." Remus told her

"Three broken ribs, a small concussion, and a loss of a lot of blood." Lily listed. "I guess it could be worse."

"Yeah. Dead." Harry suggested before turning to the werewolf. "I don't want to loose you, Pro…Remus."

"You're getting there." Remus told the boy concerning what the werewolf should be called. "And I'd hate to loose you as well."

Silence

"This is when you two hug." Sirius told them.

"How about a rain check?" Remus told Harry.

Harry nodded in understanding.

"Are you certain these are…?" Remus whispered to Harry motioning James and Lily.

"Yes." Harry said. "Dad did Prongs earlier. My Grandmother and Grandfather are also alive."

"How?"

"Anisomething." Harry said. "It's some spell that separates the soul from the body and places the soul in the body of an animal. With the counter, you can transform the animal into it's human form."

"How did you find them?"

"Hedwig. She was really my grandmother."

"And your grandfather?"

"Hermione's cat. That reminds me. I…I want to go check something out."

Harry ran out of the room.

"He's up to something." Remus stated. "He's acting like Prongs."

"You make that sound like a bad thing." James said.

"Half the time it is." Lily and Remus said.

0000

In the Hogwarts library,

"Well?" Harry asked Hermione.

"Thank you for letting me use the library at Potter Manor." Hermione said handing Harry his cloak back.

"What did you have her look for?" Ron asked Harry.

"This." Hermione said holding up an old book.

"It's ancient!" Ron pointed out.

"It's How to be an Animagus in Four Weeks" Hermione corrected.

"Four…WEEKS?" Harry and Ron asked.

"I just wanted a book on how to be animagi." Harry said. "This is SO much better than I hoped for. Are you two with me on this?"

"Is Snape's hair greasy?" Ron asked in reply.

"RON!" Hermione scolded before turning to Harry. "Of course I'm with you on this. I've actually have been considering it since Sirius brought up the subject during our third year."

Harry and Ron gapped at Hermione.

"What?" she asked.

"YOU, Miss Perfect Hermione Granger, were considering something ILLEGAL?!" Ron asked.

"Ron!" Harry and Hermione said warningly. "Shush."

"Oh." Ron said covering his mouth

"I must say," Harry added to Hermione. "I am shocked. Aren't you the same girl, who back in first year said, and I quote, _I'm going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed, or worse expelled_."

Ron laughed at Harry's imitation of Hermione.

"I was young.' Hermione said. "And I didn't know of the thrill a person gets when one breaks the rules. I acquired it after I went to bed that night and reflected on my actions."

Ron put his hand on Hermione's forehead.

"No fever." Ron pointed out.

"Let's see your left arm." Harry said grabbing her left arm and pushing up the sleeve. "No Dark Mark."

Ron starred into her eyes.

"No sign of the Imperius Curse." He added.

"When was the last thing you had anything to drink?" Harry quizzed.

"You idiots!" she said whacking them both. "I'm still me."

"How did we save Sirius in Third Year?" Harry asked her.

"We used my time turner." Hermione said. "And went back in time and saved Buckbeak, flew him to the highest tower where Sirius was being held, and rescued him."

"She's Hermione." Harry said.

"Yeah. Not many people know that." Ron said.

TBC


	8. Animagi

**Chapter 8: Animagi**

Four weeks later (July 26th),

POP

An owl, a fox, and a panther stood in the Shrieking Shack

POP

Hermione and Ron replaced the owl and the fox. However, the panther was now a phoenix.

"Looks like SOMEONE needs more practice." Hermione teased the phoenix

POP

The phoenix was now a squirrel.

"Third times a charm Mate." Ron said.

POP

"Finally." Harry said. "Once I get more practice, I'll be able to handle what I transform into."

Flashback

"_Now we drink this potion and see what animals we are." Hermione said._

_Ron held up his goblet of goop._

"_Polyjuice looked more appetizing." Ron stated with a look of disgust._

"_You know," Hermione said knowingly. "You don't HAVE to drink it." _

"_We don't?" the boys asked hopefully._

"_No. Unless you WANT to take three years to perform the transformations."_

"_I bet Dad didn't need to drink this stuff." Harry said after he downed the potion._

_Ron and Hermione followed._

_CRASH_

_The trio dropped their glasses as they all fell into a trance._

_0000_

_A few minutes later,_

_Hermione groaned. Her eyes opened and she saw Ron and Harry getting up._

"_Did you guys see anything?" Harry asked._

"_Yeah." Ron said. "I saw a fox. Tricky little blighter kept running all over the place."_

"_I saw an owl." Hermione said. "It had to be a barn owl."_

"_How about you, mate?" Ron said._

"_Name an animal, I saw it." Harry said._

"_Harry!" Hermione gasped. "You're a multimagus."_

"_A what?"_

"_You can transform into any animal at will." Hermione explained._

"_Wicked." Ron said in awe._

"_Why me?" Harry asked nobody in particular as Hermione looked in the book._

"_Because you're you." Ron answered._

"_Here it is." Hermione said as she read. "Oh. Apparently, you're going to have the toughest time with the transformation. On a brighter note, you can be ANY animal. That includes magical."_

"_You could hang with the centaurs." Ron said._

"_I'd advise against it." Hermione said. "Personally, I'd stay away from anything half-human."_

"_Too bad." Harry said. "I wanted to give those merfolk a piece of my mind about their tridents down there." _

End Flashback

"Anyways. We're animagi now!" Ron cheered.

"And just in time. Tomorrow's the full moon." Harry said.

"Can you do it?" Hermione asked Harry.

"It's WHAT I transform into that's the problem." Harry said. "I could transform just perfectly."

As if to prove his point,

POP

A fairy flew where he was.

"Oh yeah." Ron said sarcastically. "Professor Lupin's not going to want a bite out of you."

POP

A badger stood in Harry's place.

"That_ could_ work." Hermione said.

POP

"This might be harder than I thought." Harry said in his human form.

0000

The Golden Trio snuck back to the school under the cloak to see two figures walking the halls.

"We owe Mrs. Elizabeth Potter so much." Dumbledore said. "By releasing Harry's potential early, she had enabled him to perform Occulmency without knowing it."

"Yes." Snape's voice came. "The Dark Lord has yet to reach the boy. He's getting desperate for information."

"Does Voldemort know that Harry is away from his aunt and uncle?"

"Not yet."

"Tell him that we have him in our custody now. Don't tell him about James, Lily, Charles, or Elizabeth."

"Anything else?"

"That's all for now."

TBC


	9. Full Moon

**Chapter 9: The Full Moon**

The night of the full moon,

"Ready Moony?" Sirius asked.

A healthier Remus gave Sirius a look.

"How long has it been since we've done this together?" James asked as he looked out the window at the moon rising.

"Too long." Sirius said as he stepped back from the werewolf.

"Not long enough." Remus said watching the moon

The transformation began.

When it was complete, Sirius and James transformed into their animagi forms. Moony opened his eyes and saw Padfoot and Prongs. Padfoot tackled Moony playfully like they did back in school.

Creeek.

Prongs' ears twitched at the sound of the trapdoor opening

POP

Prongs went over to the trap door and saw an owl, a fox, and a wolf. The owl was perched on the wolf's head. Moony and Padfoot followed behind the stag and saw the new animals. Moony walked over to them and sniffed all three animals individually. The owl looked as if it was bracing itself.

After Moony sniffed the wolf last, he growled as if scolding the animals. The fox yelped and hid behind the wolf. The wolf rolled its eyes at the fox and then barked as if to explain.

Moony then turned to the older animagi and stepped aside as if they could convince the newer animals something. Padfoot and Prongs both examined the animals. However, since their senses were not a prominent in human forms as Moony's, they recognized the scents, but couldn't place them. So, they allowed the newer animals to hang out with them.

0000

The next morning,

Remus woke up in-between Padfoot and Prongs like the old days. The extra animals were nowhere in sight

"Padfoot. Prongs." Remus whispered.

"Huh?" James asked as he transformed.

"Did you two recognize those other animals?" Remus asked.

"I recognized the scents, but I couldn't place them." Sirius admitted.

"Better than me." James said. "I didn't recognize any. Except that one seemed faintly familiar."

"You are REALLY going to feel bad, Prongs." Remus said "Where are they?"

"They went back to the woods before we went to bed." Sirius said with a shrug.

"WHAT?!" Remus asked leaving the shack.

The two animagi looked at each other and shrugged.

0000

As Remus was headed to the woods from the shack.

"PROF…REMUS!"

Remus turned and saw the Golden Trio headed for him.

"I thought you went to the woods?" Remus said.

"No. We were in the castle ALL night." Ron lied.

"Ron. I spent ten years with Sirius Black and James Potter. Just how gullible do you think I am?" Remus scolded

"Not very." Harry answered nervously.

"What's going on, Moony?" James asked as he and Sirius caught up to the werewolf.

"Sirius." Remus said still looking at the kids. "I want you to transform and smell the kids."

James and Sirius looked at each other as if hoping the other knew where Remus was going. Sirius shrugged and transformed.

"Nothing's off." Sirius said after he smelt them and transformed back.

"Did you recognize the scent from anytime recently?"

"Actually, yeah. They smelled like…" Sirius answered before realizing what Remus was talking about. He then turned to the kids.

"When did you three…?"

They just smiled innocently.

"What did you three do?" James asked.

"You remember the wolf, fox, and owl from last night?" Sirius asked.

"Yes."

Sirius pointed at the innocent looking kids.

"You DIDN'T?!" James exclaimed. "Don't you three know how dangerous it is?"

They nodded.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?" Remus asked.

"We had fun and can't wait for next month?" Ron tried.

"Molly and Lily are going to have my head." Sirius groaned.

"We thought you'd be proud." Harry said. "We did it all by ourselves."

"And in one month." Hermione added. "Whereas it took you guys, what, three years?"

"One MONTH?!" the Marauders exclaimed.

"There you lot are." Lily said as she came up to the gangs. "What's going on?"

"Just catching up with the kids." James said sweetly as he put his hands on Harry's shoulders.

"What did they do?" Lily asked crossing her arms. "And don't even attempt to lie to me. I WILL discover the truth."

"Nothing." Everyone answered

"We will talk about this later." James whispered into his son's ear.

TBC


	10. Found Out

**Chapter 10: Found Out**

"So?" James said to Harry

The two Potters were in the Room of Requirement alone.

"You decided to follow in my footsteps and become an animagus?" James asked.

"Yes Sir." Harry said nervously. He wasn't sure about how much trouble he was in.

"A wolf at that."

"You know as well as I do that we can't choose." Harry argued while leaving out the small detail he could do ANY animal.

"True." James said. "You DO know of the risks involved right?"

"Yes."

"Harry. I'm talking more than the risk of getting stuck." James said as he knelt down to look Harry in the eyes. "Especially in our cases. Padfoot, and…anyways, they could pass as pets. However I'm a stag. I have to be especially careful because people hunt stags. You're at risk too, being a wolf. So is Ron. Hermione could pass as a pet. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

"You want me and Ron to be extremely careful because we could be targets for hunters if we stray too far from the Forbidden Forest." Harry said with a nod.

"Right." James said with a sigh thankful that Harry understood. "Now, explain to me…how did you do it in one MONTH?!"

"Hermione found a book in Potter Library." Harry said. "I told her the address and lent her the invisibility cloak."

"You mean I had a book the whole time that would enable me to transform in a month instead of three bloody years?" James asked more to himself than his son.

"Yes. But your way was probably better. We had to brew this potion that was even more disgusting than Polyjuice. And that includes taste."

They laughed.

"When did you brew Polyjuice?" James asked after he calmed down.

0000

In Dumbledore's office three hours later, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lily, Charles, Elizabeth, Sirius, Remus, and Snape were waiting for James.

"Where is he?" Lily asked referring to her husband.

"He had to talk to Harry about something." Remus told her.

The door opened to reveal James looking rather pale.

"James?" Lily asked. "What's the matter?"

"Our son has been through so much." James told her as he plopped in one of the chair. "He just finished telling me about his second year."

"Oh." Elizabeth winced. "When he fought the Basilisk?"

Lily paled at the description of that year as James nodded.

"He did WHAT?!" Lily asked.

"How'd you get on that subject?" Remus asked.

"We got on the subject of Polyjuice Potion and…We'll talk about that later." James said before turning to Dumbledore. "What's with this emergency meeting?"

"We were waiting for you." Sirius explained.

"James? Were there any other animals with you last night?" Dumbledore asked worriedly.

The Marauders looked at each other. How could Dumbledore know already?

"Is there a specific animal you're asking about?" James asked.

"Yes. A rat."

The room dropped ten degrees in temperature.

"We didn't see one." Sirius said. "Why?"

"The Dark Lord had sent Pettigrew to spy on Lupin and Black last night. Obviously, he saw Potter and reported to the Dark Lord." Snape answered.

Sirius clinched his fists.

"That dirty, rotten, two-faced, no-good, two-timing..." Sirius started.

"Enough." Charles told him. "Snape has something else to say."

"Also, he noticed three other animals that Lupin recognized." Snape continued. "However, Pettigrew could not."

"That's not for us to reveal." Remus said.

"You three may enter." Dumbledore suddenly said as he waved his hand.

A bookshelf slid open and Harry, Ron, and Hermione came tumbling out.

"Hi." They said.

"Where did that passage come from?" Sirius asked

"What are you three doing?" Lily asked.

"Just, hanging out." Harry answered. They had actually been exploring and found a passage not on the Map.

"How much did you hear, Potter?" Snape asked.

"Enough." Harry said. "So, Voldemort knows about my parents and grandparents?"

"Not exactly." McGonagall said. "He only knows about your father. Do you three know about those three other animals?"

"What other animals?" Ron asked.

"We'd rather not say." Hermione said.

"Kids." Lily warned giving them a dangerous look

POP

An owl, a fox, and a wolf stood in front of them in the place of the kids.

POP

"Gotta go!" they said running back into the passage behind the shelf at top speed.

"WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?!" Lily screamed at her husband.

"Apparently they got the idea last month." James said. "For the record, I didn't learn until this morning. They found this book in the Potter Library about how to become animagi in a month. That's how we got started on the second year conversation. He compared it to Polyjuice."

"I don't believe this." McGonagall said. "Three **more** unregistered animagi running around."

"I swear Severus." Lily said turning to the Potions master. "If Voldemort EVER gets wind of what Harry did, I will personally hold you responsible."

"Very well." Snape said. "The only way the Dark Lord will discover, will be if another Death Eater discovers."

TBC


	11. Chat With Lily

**Chapter 11: Chat with Lily**

The Golden Group was doing their summer homework in the library. They would have done it outside, but they were grounded.

"I can't believe I'm grounded." Ron groaned.

"I don't think your Mum truly knows why she grounded you." Hermione said. "It's only because Harry was grounded, so she figured you were in on it, and if Mrs. Potter thought it was worth grounding, then you would be grounded."

"True. If Mum knew the truth, forget grounded. I'd be dead." Ron said

"Ron's right." Harry agreed. "We were let off easy."

"No. Your dad was let off easy." Ron reminded him.

"No. Grandma chewed him out after Remus woke up a month ago." Harry said with a laugh.

"You know Harry." Hermione said leaning in. "I don't think the adults know you're a multi."

"I don't think so either." Harry agreed. "Let's try to leave it that way."

"That dirty rotten rat." Ron swore. "Ratting us out like that to You-Know-Who."

"He didn't rat US out." Hermione reminded him. "He ratted Mr. Potter out."

"Which Mr. Potter?" Harry asked. "There's three of us running around."

"James Potter." Hermione answered.

"I'm just teasing." Harry said.

"Shouldn't you three be working?" Lily asked from behind them.

"We are Mum." Harry said.

"Harry. Could I have a word with you?" Lily asked.

Harry turned to his friends who gave him sympathetic looks.

"Okay?" Harry said.

"Not here." She said.

0000

In the Owlery,

"I used to come up here to think all the time." Lily explained after seeing Harry's questioned look.

"I do it too sometimes." Harry said.

"Harry. I noticed that my grounding you is having little effect." Lily said with her arms crossed. "Care to explain?"

"Not really." Harry said. "I've had worse."

"Worse?" Lily asked "What did my sister do?"

"It wasn't her as much as Uncle Vernon." Harry explained. "And the most he did was lock me in my room for days at a time."

Lily was growing white as a sheet.

"Of course," Harry continued before he could stop himself. "for the first ten years, my room was the cupboard under the stairs."

"They didn't." Lily gasped.

"It's over now." Harry said. "Dumbledore once told me, "it does no good to dwell on dreams". The same goes for the past."

But Lily wasn't done.

"Did they ever lay a hand on you?" she asked.

"Just the occasional backhand." Harry said. "And they would reward Dudley for beating me up."

"I'm so sorry Harry." Lily said with tears in her eyes. "You were never meant to go there. If Sirius, Remus, or ... the other Marauder couldn't take you in, you were supposed to go to the Longbottoms. Your father wanted Dumbledore and McGonagall to take you in, but as teachers, it would have been too much to ask."

She then turned and looked out over the lake while leaning on the overlook.

"I should have just portkeyed us out of there that night instead of just standing there listening to the duel." She continued to herself.

"He still would have found us." Harry said as he joined her. "He had to mark someone. Besides, it freed the world from his reign of terror for thirteen years. It's a shame it had to end."

Both mother and son sighed.

"You DO understand why I grounded you, right?" Lily asked.

"Yes." Harry answered. "We did something dangerous and illegal. Actually, we think you let us off pretty easy."

"I did." Lily admitted.

"Care to explain?" Harry asked his mother.

"A number of reasons. One, it's to our advantage that you have this ability. Two, it's my first time grounding you. And three…a certain someone's birthday is coming up."

"Dad's?"

"Yours. You're father was born in March."

"Oh." Harry said after some thought.

"Did you forget your own birthday?" Lily asked with a grin.

"Yeah." Harry admitted. "It was never really celebrated. Just a few presents around midnight after I turned 11."

Lily frowned.

"I have GOT to start thinking before I speak." Harry said to himself with a wince.

"So," Lily asked changing the subject. "What's this I hear about your expertise in Polyjuice. According to Severus, you're decent in Potions, but not THAT much."

"He said I was decent? He hates my guts!"

"No. He hates your father's guts. You just happen to look like your father. We can blame genetics for that."

Harry had to laugh at that.

"I wonder what would have happened if I was sorted into Slytherin like the sorting hat wanted." Harry thought out loud

"Your dad would roll over in his grave." Lily answered with a laugh. "But back to the subject at hand. Polyjuice?"

"Hermione, Ron, and I brewed it in our second year." Harry admitted. "We wanted to know if Malfoy knew anything about the Chamber of Secrets, so Ron and I became Crabbe and Goyle."

"Three second years brew Polyjuice potion by themselves?" Lily asked.

Harry nodded.

"I didn't learn to make it until my seventh year." Lily said in amazement. Then she laughed.

"What?" Harry asked.

"I was just remembering when I made it." Lily said. "I became Sirius for an hour behind his back. Your father really opens up to him. I found out more than I wanted to know about him. Such as how his bigheadedness back in fifth year was only an act."

"Well, Ron and I found out that the Chamber had been opened before and a muggleborn died. Turns out, it was Myrtle." Harry said as he told his mother what he learned while under the influence of the potion

"You know Myrtle?" Lily asked suspiciously.

"Yeah. We brewed the potion in her lavatory. Also, that's where the Chamber is. I can't say for sure, but I think she has a crush on me."

"Yeah. She has a thing for guys with messy black hair." Lily said.

Harry gave his mother a look.

"Back in fifth year, I…locked your father and his friends in her toilet." Lily admitted. "They had been giving Severus a hard time."

Harry's mouth dropped.

"YOU played that prank on the MARAUDERS to defend SNAPE?" Harry asked.

Lily nodded sadly. "My repayment, the next time I saw Severus, he called me a…"

She closed her eyes tightly at the memory.

Flashback

"_I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"_

End Flashback

"He had been my first friend." Lily explained to her confused son. "Snape had lived down the street from us growing up. When my magic started showing, he explained everything to me. He just hung around the Slytherins too much."

"Oh." Harry said in understanding. "I never knew. The only real reason I hate Snape so much is because, basically, he hates me. I never saw any real reason to like him."

"Everyone deserves chances." Lily said. "I gave your father a chance. True it happened after six, almost seven, years, but I still gave him a chance. Look where it ended up."

"Yeah." Harry argued. "And you and Dad gave that rat a chance. Look where it ended up."

"True. But there's a difference. Your father and…the rat made different choices. Your dad took the chance as an opportunity to show me his true hidden self. Pettigrew choose to betray those who cared for him. He lost our trust."

"And Snape?"

"Snape…I gave him a chance. He blew it in our fifth year. However, Dumbledore has explained to us about Snape's position right now concerning the war. True, we will never be the best of friends again, but he is risking a lot. I'm considering giving him a second chance."

"Maybe I should talk to him." Harry thought out loud.

"Normally," Lily advised. "I'd say that would be the best thing. However, considering Snape's position and how well Voldemort is in Ligilimens, that probably wouldn't be wise. When this is all over, you may."

TBC


	12. Quidditch

**Chapter 12: Quidditch**

A week past after Harry's chat with Lily. The trio finished their homework, and got ungrounded.

Harry decided to keep the part about Snape quiet around his friends when he told them about the chat.

"I can't believe your mum locked the Marauders in Myrtle's bathroom." Ron said. "Did she say why?"

"They had been giving…one of her friends a hard time."

"Remind me not to mess with her." Ron said.

"I thinks that's not a problem." Hermione said as the trio walked into the Quidditch pitch.

Harry and Ron were going to fly around the Quidditch pitch because they hadn't flown in ages. Harry was also feeling like he needed the practice due to the fact he hadn't played in over a year. He and Ron were carrying the Quidditch trunk between them as well as their brooms.

"Okay guys." Harry said as he and Ron mounted their brooms. "Let it out Hermione."

Hermione opened the Quidditch trunk and pulled out the snitch.

"Ready? GO!"

The two zipped across the field chasing the snitch. Within five minutes, the snitch was caught by Harry.

"Hey Harry?" Ron asked.

"Yeah?" Harry said looking up at his best friend.

"I'm…I'm thinking of trying out for the team." Ron admitted. "Keeper."

"You want me to shoot some shots at you?" Harry said with a smirk.

"If you don't mind." Ron said.

"Of course I don't. Actually, you may be better off with Dad. He WAS a chaser after all."

"Well, I don't see your Dad around."

"True." Harry said as he flew down to Hermione and handed her the snitch. "Hey 'Mione, could you toss me the Quaffle?"

"Sure." Hermione said taking the snitch and putting it in the small compartment. "You want me to release the Bludgers as well?"

"No thank you." Harry said quickly as she threw him the Quaffle.

The two boys flew up to the goal post and Harry started shooting the Quaffle towards Ron.

"There you lot are." Hermione heard a voice behind her.

She quickly turned and saw the Marauders, the elder Potters, and Lily walking towards them.

"I told you we'd find them at the Quidditch pitch." James said to his father.

"I told you." Charles reminded his son. "I thought Harry was a seeker."

"He is." Hermione explained. "Ron just wants to practice being the keeper. He wants to try out this year."

"That explains it." Lily said watching her son zoom around in the air.

"He's not a bad chaser." James observed

"He's not too bad of a beater either." Another voice said behind them. "When I was showing him the ropes, he whacked that bludger as good as either of the Weasley twins."

"Oliver!" Hermione exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I came for the party." Wood explained. "Ron's a fair keeper."

Ron had just blocked a goal.

"When they're done," Remus told Hermione. "Tell them to come to the Great Hall."

"Alright." Hermione said as the adults left.

0000

A few minutes later,

"Don't fret Ron." Harry told his friend. "You'll make the team."

"I don't know." Ron said. "I did miss some."

"So did Wood." Harry reminded him.

The trio were on their way to the Great Hall.

Harry sighed.

"What's wrong Harry?" Hermione asked.

"It's just…you two are the only ones who wished me a happy birthday." Harry said. "Mum was the one who reminded me a week ago. And the only thing she's said to me today was "Hello Love." I'm getting worried."

"It's only noon." Ron said. "They still have twelve hours."

They opened the doors to the Great Hall

It was empty.

TBC


	13. Birthday

**Chapter 13: Birthday**

Ron gave Hermione a confused look as she sat down at the Gryffindor table. He could have sworn that he had heard the adults talking about Harry's birthday earlier.

"So," Hermione asked Harry. "What do you want for lunch?"

"Well, some chicken sounds good." Harry said.

"And mashed potatoes." Ron said.

"And we can't forget the rolls." Harry added.

The teenage boys started listing foods for lunch

The food appeared (courtesy of the house-elves).

"Leave it to Dobby." Harry said as he observed the food that was abundant enough for all of Gryffindor.

When the three teens were done with dinner, the food disappeared. Suddenly, a large cake appeared. It had white and red frosting on it. In red letters, it read:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!

"Well, Dobby didn't forget." Hermione said with a grin.

"Then explain why it's in my Mum's handwriting." Ron said.

"SURPRISE!"

Harry nearly jumped a mile off he seat as the Order of the Phoenix, the ghosts of Hogwarts, Winky, and Dobby appeared through the doors

"You are so paranoid." Hermione laughed at the shocked look on Harry's face.

"CONSTANT VILIGANCE!" Moody yelled causing James and Kingsley to jump.

"Would you PLEASE warn us when you're about to do that?" James asked the auror.

"You guys." Harry said as tears started to develop in his eyes. "I…I don't know what to say."

"How about cut the cake?" Wood asked.

0000

A few minutes later,

"I was beginning to think my birthday was forgotten." Harry admitted to his dad and godfather.

"Forgotten?" James asked. "Are you nuts? Fifteen years ago today was the best day of my life."

"I remember it clear as day." Remus said joining them. "Dumbledore was over at my place when I got the call…"

Flashback

_July 30, 1980. 10:00 P.M_

"_Have you talked with the other werewolves?" Dumbledore asked Remus._

"_Yes. They still believe Voldemort has the cure. I can't believe how STUPID they are."_

"_Moony!" _

"_Sirius?" Remus asked going to the fireplace and seeing Sirius' head in the fire. "What's wrong?"_

"_Good question. I got a call from James on my mirror. He wasn't making a lick of sense. You could usually translate him."_

"_What did he say?"_

"_Lily…hospital…now…coming…is…the…in…the….baby." Sirius relayed._

"_Lily is in the hospital now. The baby is coming." Remus translated._

"_Oh. That makes more sense." Sirius said._

_Pause _

"_THE BABY'S COMING!?" the two Marauders realized._

"_I'll meet you at the hospital." Remus said. "You call Wormtail." _

"_Right." Sirius said as he left the fireplace._

"_Sorry I'm going to have to cut this meeting short." Remus told the headmaster._

"_Not a problem. I believe I'll join you."_

_0000_

"_A sick aunt?" Remus asked Sirius at the hospital._

"_That's what Wormtail said." Sirius said as he paced in the waiting room._

"_Do James and Lily know what the baby is?" Dumbledore asked._

"_No. Lily wanted to be surprised." Remus explained._

"_Hey guys." A tired Frank Longbottom came into the waiting room. "What brings you here?"_

"_Lily is having the baby." Remus explained. "You?"_

"_Alice JUST had the baby." Frank said. "It's a boy." _

"_Congratulations." Sirius said clapping Frank on his back._

"_His name's Neville." Frank added._

"_Neville?" Sirius asked. "Okay. He's your kid." _

_He pulled out a baby name book._

"_Ah. Neville. French for New town." Sirius read._

"_What are you doing with a baby name book?" Remus asked._

"_I was curious." Sirius said. "Too bad it doesn't have my name in it. Remus. Your name means speedy, quick. According to mythology, Remus and his twin brother, Romulus, founded Rome." _

"_I knew that Padfoot." Remus said._

"_Frank." Sirius said. "Your name is short for Franklin which means free landowner."_

"_I know that Sirius." Frank said while rolling his eyes._

"_I don't see Albus in here." Sirius said going through the book._

"_That is alright." Dumbledore said._

"_Peter means small rock." Sirius continued looking up names of his friends. "Lily means, well, lily. James means supplanter, substitute."_

"_He's enjoying this too much." Frank whispered to Albus._

"_Well, I heard that if it's a boy, the Potters will name the boy Harry." Remus told the dog animagus_

"_Harry?" Sirius asked as he looked up the name. "Short for Harold or Henry. Harold means army ruler. Henry means ruler of the household. That could work."_

_The doors opened and a tired James stepped out._

"_Well?" the other men asked._

"_Wake me when she has the baby." James said plopping in a chair and closed his eyes._

"_What name did you pick if it's a girl?" Sirius asked._

"_Holly." _

"_It's a type of plant." Remus said to Sirius before he could open the book._

"_I know that." Sirius said_

"_James." The healer said sticking her head out. "Lily's asking for you."_

"_Fine." James groaned and got up._

_0000_

_Around one o'clock,_

_Frank had gone back to his wife and child. Sirius and Remus were napping. Dumbledore was eating a lemon drop while reading the Prophet._

_Suddenly, the doors burst open causing Dumbledore to look up. Sirius and Remus remained asleep._

"_It's a boy." James told the headmaster. "Harry." _

"_Congratulations." Dumbledore said with a smile as Lily was wheeled out in a wheelchair carrying a small bundle._

_When she caught sight of the infant's godfather and surrogated uncle, she smiled._

"_They are worn out, aren't they?" she said quietly._

"_Very much so." Dumbledore said. "Would you like me to wake them up?"_

"_No. Let them sleep." Lily said looking down at her son. "James. He's awake."_

"_You're going to be a night person, aren't you?" James asked the bundle of blankets before turning to the leader of the Order. "He was actually born an hour ago. We were just too enthralled in his existence, we lost track of time."_

"_That is understandable." Dumbledore said putting down the Prophet and getting up._

_He walked over to the parents and the child and gazed on the infant._

_The baby was pink with a mass of black hair on his tiny head. Green eyes gazed up at the older man._

"_He likes you." Lily said to Dumbledore as Harry reached up._

"_Can you blame the kid?" James said. "He cried when he woke up to the nurses thirty minutes ago. And by cried, I mean screamed his head off." _

"_There you are, Albus." Minerva came in. "The Minister…"_

_She stopped talking as her eyes landed on the bundle of blue blankets. Her eyes darted from the bundle to Lily, to James, then to Albus._

_James took his son from his wife._

"_Professor." James said. "I'd like you to meet Harry. He is going to give you quite the time at Hogwarts." _

_He then handed the baby to the Professor. Stunned, she took the baby. Harry squirmed a little, then calmed down. _

"_Hopefully he has more of Lily's personality." McGonagall said._

_Everyone started laughing._

"_It was Moony's idea." Sirius said in his sleep._

_McGonagall handed Harry back to James._

_The doors opened again and Peter Pettigrew came running in._

"_Sorry I'm so late." He apologized. "I came as soon as I got the message." _

"_Here Wormtail." James said handing the baby to Peter. "This is Harry."_

_Peter reluctantly took the baby. Suddenly, Harry's face scrunched up._

"_WHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"_

_Peter quickly gave the baby back to James. However, not without results._

_At the sound of the LOUD cry, Remus and Sirius both jumped and fell out of the chairs._

"_Where's the fire?" Sirius asked thinking it was an alarm. "I hear the alarm."_

"_No alarm, Padfoot." James said handing the crying infant to Lily. "Just your godson."_

"_Oh." Sirius said climbing back in the chair and closing his eyes again to go back to sleep._

"_Shh." Lily told the baby. "It's okay. It's only Peter. He won't hurt you."_

"_He likes Albus and Minnie." James whispered to Remus._

_McGonagall glared daggers at her once star pupil due to the unwanted nickname._

_Harry slowly calmed down._

"_Oh my…" Remus swore as he gazed on the infant. "He looks just like James."_

"_My WHAT?!" Sirius yelled as he woke up again. _

_He jumped out of the chair and went over to Lily and the baby. He knelt down to where he was level with the whimpering baby._

_Harry stopped whimpering and gazed at all the new people surrounding him._

"_His name is Harry." Lily informed the other Marauders._

"_You agreed on it?" Remus asked Lily_

_She nodded._

"_Hi Harry." Sirius whispered. "I'm Sirius. But you can call me Padfoot."_

"_He won't be talking for a while." Remus said._

"_and this is your Uncle Moony."_

"_Excuse me?" Remus asked the animagus due to the newest title before turning to the infant. "You just ignore this idiot. The only reason Lily allowed him to be your godfather is because I can't be it legally."_

_Harry suddenly yawned._

"_Look Guys." Sirius said to James and Peter. "He thinks Moony is boring like we do."_

End Flashback

Everyone was laughing at the end of the story. Remus had started telling it, but then James took over.

"Of course," Remus added. "I'm sure Harry was only tired. He had only been in the world for a little over an hour and he was meeting a bunch of new people."

"I should have realized something was up the way you cried as soon as Peter held you." Lily said to her son.

"It's okay Mum." Harry said.

"So?" Wood asked. "Who wants to play Quidditch?"

"I do!" Sirius, James, Harry, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Kingsley, Tonks, Charles, and Arthur said.

TBC


	14. The Prophesy

**Chapter 14: The Prophesy**

"So," Harry said to his friends the day after his birthday (his team had won the game) "We have a month before school. I got all of my school supplies for my birthday."

"And our parents have already gotten our items." Ron added.

"Now what?" Hermione asked.

Harry had a decent idea of what HE wanted to do. However, he didn't want Ron, Hermione, or anyone else involved.

He wanted to go on and defeat Voldemort while he was still fairly weak.

0000

KNOCK KNOCK

"Enter." Dumbledore said.

The door opened to reveal Harry.

"Ah. Harry. How may I help you?"

"Have you heard anything about Voldemort?" Harry asked.

"None." Dumbledore replied almost worriedly

"Odd." Harry said. "I've been feeling twinges in my scar."

"Have you had any dreams?" Dumbledore asked.

"No." Harry answered. He was getting worried. "Do you have any other spies?"

"None. Severus is the only one." Dumbledore said. "The other Death Eaters are too loyal to Voldemort."

"That's all I wanted to know." Harry said as he left.

After Harry left the office, he broke out into a run. Ever since his grandmother released the extra powers, he had gotten better at divinations. He had even seen Ron and Hermione snogging in the crystal ball, only to find them in the library doing the same thing he had seen.

0000

KNOCK KNOCK

"Enter." Trelawney said.

Harry opened the door.

"Ah. Mr. Potter. I saw that you were coming." Trelawney said.

"Yeah. Sure." Harry said not believing a word. "I was wondering if you could…answer a question I have about divinations."

"Of course Har…"

Suddenly, her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Harry leaned in and listened to the prediction.

"THE DARK LORD WILL DISCOVER NOT ALL OF HIS SUBJECTS ARE LOYAL. THE DOG, THE WOLF, AND THE STAG WILL TRY TO SAVE THE SPY BUT WILL BE CAPTURED. THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SAVE THEM IS THE FIREBIRD WHO IS ALSO A FAIRY. THE DARK LORD WILL MEET HIS END IF HE CROSSES PATHS WITH THE FIREBIRD AT THE VEIL. THE DARK LORD WILL DISCOVER NOT ALL FO HIS SUBJECTS ARE LOYAL" She predicted.

The professor suddenly jerked back to reality.

"Are you alright, Harry?" she asked. "You seem awfully pale."

Harry had gone pale during the prediction.

"I have to find the Marauders." He said as he ran out of the room.

0000

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE GONE?!" Harry yelled at his grandfather

"Dumbledore has reason to believe that Snape had been caught." Charles explained calmly. "So, he sent Remus, Sirius, and your Dad to save Snape. It took some convincing from Lily to get them to do it."

"I have to go see Dumbledore." Harry said as he broke out into a run.

0000

Dumbledore was in his office when the door burst open to reveal a panting Harry.

"Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"Trelawney…prediction…deep voice…real." Harry panted.

"Dobby!"

"How can Dobby help the Headmaster?" Dobby said after appearing. His eyes brightened when he saw Harry.

"Get Harry a glass of water." Dumbledore instructed leading Harry to a chair.

"Right away, Sir." Dobby said disappearing with a crack.

"What did she say?" Dumbledore asked

"The Dark Lord…will discover…not all of his…subjects are… loyal….The dog,… the wolf,…and the stag…will try to save….the spy but… will be…captured… The only… one… who can save… them is… the Firebird… who is also a fairy…. The Dark Lord… will meet… his end… if he crosses… paths with…the Firebird…at the veil… It then repeats." Harry repeated while panting.

"Do you know what it means?" Dumbledore asked the boy wondering if Harry translated.

Dobby reappeared with a crack.

Harry nodded as a house-elf handed him a glass of water.

"Basically." Harry said after taking a sip of water and catching his breath. "Voldemort's on to Snape and Dad, Remus, and Sirius will try to save him. However, they'll be captured. The only one who can save them is a Phoenix that can turn into a fairy."

"Or a multimagus?" Dumbledore said looking at Harry over the rim of his glasses.

"You know about that?" Harry asked guiltily. "I thought I made it look as if I was a wolf animagus."

"You did. However, Fawkes saw otherwise."

"You blabbed, didn't you?" Harry asked the Phoenix.

Fawkes merely sang innocently.

"What can I do?" Harry asked. "I'm underage. I don't think the Marauders and Snape will last until I'm seventeen. I JUST turned fifteen."

"There IS a loophole in the underage magic decree." Dumbledore informed the teen. "Magic may be used in life threatening situations."

"Things don't get much life threatening than a boy Voldemort wants dead facing him." Harry said while rolling his eyes.

"I'd advise taking your father's cloak to the Ministry." Dumbledore said with a wink.

TBC


	15. The Rescue

**Chapter 15: The Rescue**

At the Ministry,

"Have you seen anything of Potter?" Fudge asked Malfoy.

"None." Lucius said unknown that the boy in question was listening in on the conversation.

"The boy is talking too much." Dolores Umbridge said. "He'll ruin your reputation minister."

"Don't you think I know that already?" Fudge said sharply.

"Please work." Harry said a silent prayer as he waved his mother's wand at Malfoy's left arm.

He had switched wands with her when she wasn't looking.

Malfoy's sleeve ripped to reveal the Dark Mark. Visible enough for everyone to see that not only did Malfoy have one, but that it was activated.

"Doing some quick thinking, Shaklebolt apprehended Malfoy and poured Vertiserum down his throat."

"What is your name?"

"Lucius Malfoy."

"Are you a death eater?"

"I am."

"Malfoy?" Fudge asked in amazement.

"Is You-Know-Who back among us?"

"He is." Malfoy answered.

Percy dropped his quill. His parents had been right.

Suddenly, Mad-Eye appeared.

"Okay. What's going on?" Moody asked.

"Malfoy had just admitted being a Death Eater and the return of He-who-must-not-be-named." Kingsley filled in the once-retired auror.

"Take him to Azkaban!" Fudge yelled.

Harry winced. He didn't want THAT to happen. He had wanted to follow Malfoy to the hideout. Harry had hoped that Malfoy would make a break for it. However, something caught his eye.

It was a rat. With a silver paw.

Harry took a deep breath to will himself not to kill the rat. Instead, the teen followed the rat as it scurried to its master.

0000

In the Department of Mysteries,

"Why did I risk my arse to save you?" Sirius asked Snape as they were bound to the wall next to each other in shackles.

"Because you are both members of the Order." Remus answered as he was bound in between Sirius and James.

"Crucio."

Remus winced in pain as he struggled not to cry out.

"I will have no talking amongst my prisoners." Voldemort said.

POP

"Master." Peter said as he transformed while running to his master. "We have been found out. Lucius' sleeve ripped and he was given Vertiserum."

"Does the Minister know where we are?" Voldemort asked.

"No Master." Peter said.

"Then it is no concern. Merely a set back."

None saw the black phoenix fly up to the rafters. Harry had transformed at the same time as Peter to cover up the sound of his own transformation. He had the invisibility cloak in his pocket with his mother's wand.

Voldemort left the prisoners with the rat and the phoenix.

"Why?" James asked Pettigrew.

"Why what?" Peter asked.

"Why betray us? We taught you everything we know. We treated you like a brother." James asked as tears developed as he remembered the good old days.

"I didn't want to get killed." Peter said as if it was obvious. "The Dark Lord was, and is winning. As a follower, I was guaranteed life."

"What made you think WE wouldn't kill you?" Sirius said as he tried to go for the rat.

"Because the Dark Lord would finish you off before you could kill me." Peter said with full trust in his master.

Suddenly, Remus' right hand was free. He quickly grabbed his wand and stunned the death eater.

"Let's kill him." Sirius said as Remus dropped from his chains.

"Let's turn him in." James suggested as he was dropped from his bonds. "That way we can get you cleared. THEN we kill him."

Snape suddenly was freed.

"Fine." Sirius pouted as he was dropped.

Harry was in his fairy form as he had unlocked the shackles that bound the Marauders and their worst enemy (next to Voldemort).

Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps.

"Let's go." Snape said.

The Marauders ran carrying Pettigrew between them. Remus taking good care not to tough the silver hand.

After they vanished through a door,

POP

Harry stood between the oncoming Death Eaters and his retreating family.

"Potter!" Voldemort said when he spotted the teen.

"Hi Tom." Harry said with a smirk.

"How DARE you?!" Voldemort yelled.

"How dare I what?" Harry asked. "Free your prisoners? Expecto Patronum!"

The stag emerged from the wand giving Harry the coverage he needed to make a break for it.

Harry ran through the department with the hopes of finding some backup. Instead, he ran into a room with only one door and a veil. Voices were heard in the veil.

"Potter is mine!" Voldemort roared as he and the Death Eaters came into the room. "Nowhere to run Potter. And no one to shield you."

Harry gripped his mother's wand. His heart was pounding in his chest.

"Crucio!" Voldemort said.

The red beam shot towards Harry. Harry dodged to the side. Voldemort followed.

The two dueled for a good thirty minutes. During which time, the Ministry appeared after hearing the noise, and watched the duel. Aurors and Order Members were grabbing Death Eaters right and left.

Soon, it got to where Harry had his back to the veil and Voldemort was facing him. Voldemort had not tried the killing curse yet, because he thought it would not work like the last time. He didn't realize Harry switched wands.

Instead, Voldemort conjured up a long silver dagger.

"Oh boy." Harry said realizing what the Dark Lord was going to do.

Voldemort ran for the boy.

"Stay back!" Harry ordered the Order Members who were starting to run towards him. "This ends now."

Voldemort raised his dagger and started to lunge. However, with his Quidditch skills, Harry ducked and tripped Voldemort to send him flying into the veil. Harry was still laying on the floor, unharmed.

Things were starting to look good except for one thing:

In the process of tripping Voldemort, Harry's foot entered the veil. And the veil was starting to pull him in.

TBC


	16. Hospital Wing

A/N: To answer Paradise's question: The Marauders weren't there because they wanted to get Sirius free ASAP and they didn't know that Harry was there (they find out in this chapter). Had they known that Harry was there to begin with, they would have stuck around.

Previously,

_Voldemort raised his dagger and started to lunge. However, with his Quidditch skills, Harry ducked and tripped Voldemort to send him flying into the veil. Harry was still laying on the floor, unharmed._

_Things were starting to look good except for one thing:_

_In the process of tripping Voldemort, Harry's foot entered the veil. And the veil was starting to pull him in._

**Chapter 16: Hospital Wing**

Harry started to search for something to grip onto. As his body started to enter the veil, the body parts inside the veil grew numb. By the time he had gone halfway through he felt someone grab his arm.

It was Ginny.

"Dad! Help!" she yelled as she started pulling.

Not only Arthur, but the members of the Order who were there (Tonks, Moody, Kingsley, etc) and even Percy grabbed a hold of Harry or someone who did have a hold on the boy and started pulling.

Between all the people trying to pull him out and his upper body strength, Harry managed to break free of the veil.

"Thanks." Harry managed to say before collapsing in Ginny's and Arthur's arms. The veil had sucked out too much strength.

0000

At Hogwarts a few minutes later,

"I want to see my son!" James argued with the nurse.

"Well, he's not here." Pomfrey said giving James a strengthening potion.

After turning in Wormtail, Moody suggested that the foursome get back to Hogwarts ASAP. Once there, Lily started hugging James thanking Merlin and God that her husband was alright. Then she sent the foursome to Poppy. The tone in her voice told them not to argue.

Once the Matron saw the four, there was no escaping her. And nobody except Dumbledore knew that Harry left. For all they knew, he was out somewhere getting a head start for the school year.

She left to get some more potions from her cabinets before James could ask anymore questions about his son.

"You knew this would happen." Sirius told James. "She loves us too much to let us go so soon."

Suddenly, the doors burst open and the Order members who were at the Ministry came in. Arthur carried an unconscious Harry.

"Do we WANT to know what happened this time?" Snape asked when he saw Harry.

James, Remus, and Sirius just gapped at the unconscious teen.

"Not really." Ginny said as her father laid Harry down in one of the beds.

"What happened NOW?" Poppy sighed when she entered to see Harry unconscious.

"I think he just needs a strengthening potion when he awakens." Kingsley said. "He was nearly sucked into the Veil."

"WHAT?!" the three Marauders yelled.

"What was Potter doing there?" Snape asked.

"Saving your arses most likely." Tonks said. "When we saw him dueling You-Know-Who…"

"_**WHAT?!**_" the three Marauders repeated.

The only reason Madame Pomfrey wasn't shushing them was because Harry needed to be awake for the potion.

"When we saw him dueling You-Know-Who," Tonks repeated irritably. "He was talking about how he had snuck into the hideout and rescued the prisoners under his and the other Death Eaters noses."

"Even though the actual quote is more creative." Ginny added. "'I snuck in here right under your and your Death Munchers noses without being detected and freed Dad and the others. It helps to be a multimagus.'"

"A MULTIMAGUS?!" the Marauders exclaimed.

"That explains the self-opening shackles." Snape said under his breath. "And the Dark Lord?"

"Went head first into the Veil." Moody said. "Tried to stab Potter, but he ducked and tripped him. Excellent Auror maneuvering except for the foot getting stuck. It was during the trip, his foot got stuck in the Veil."

James, Remus, and Sirius were just starring at the unconscious boy.

Suddenly, Harry stirred.

"Good. You're up." Pomfrey said as Harry opened his eyes.

Harry closed his eyes again and groaned. The Hospital Wing was the last place he wanted to be.

"Don't give me that, Mr. Potter." Pomfrey said. "it's your own fault for sneaking to the Ministry."

"Dumbledore knows." Harry groaned.

"Really?" Ginny said looking at the doors. "Excuse me for a few minutes."

The redhead stormed right out of the door.

"I'm feeling sorry for Albus." Arthur said as he watched his daughter as she reminded him of Molly.

"What possessed you?" Sirius asked his godson.

"I heard a prophesy about what happened." Harry said before explaining the prophesy.

"And Dumbledore told me how to tell when she's making a real prediction." Harry finished. "I recognized the symptoms. So, I told Dumbledore, grabbed the cloak, and left to find a Death Eater. I ripped Malfoy's sleeve to help prove I was telling the truth, but he was captured before he could make a run for the hideout. That's when I spotted Wormtail. So, I followed the rat."

James had no idea what to say. On one hand, his son had snuck out of Hogwarts, used underage magic, fought Voldemort by himself, and nearly got himself killed. On the other hand, his son had rescued them, helped them get started on the process of getting Sirius' name cleared, got a good many Death Eaters in jail, and defeated Voldemort.

Finally, James came to a conclusion.

"We'll let your mother deal with this." James responded.

Harry winced. This wouldn't end well.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" Lily's voice rang through the halls.

Lily came storming into the Hospital Wing in a fury.

"What's this I hear about you sneaking off to the Ministry to defeat Voldemort?" she asked dangerously.

"Guess maybe this isn't the time to say, "thanks for the wand"?" Harry asked holding out her wand.

Lily got a confused look and pointed to the wand. Then she pulled out the wand that was in her pocket. It was Holly instead of Willow.

"You switched wands?" she asked extremely dangerously.

"If not, I wasn't going to defeat Voldemort." Harry said. "Of course, he never bothered with the killing curse because of what happened last time. Instead the git conjured up a dagger and tried to stab me."

Lily was as white as the walls.

"Don't worry." Harry told his mother. "I dodged. Only to be halfway sucked into that bloody veil."

"HARRY POTTER!" Hermione's voice rang.

Hermione and Ron came running into the Hospital Wing.

"What's this I hear about you nearly getting yourself killed?...Again" Hermione asked.

"I just got rid of Voldemort." Harry said with a shrug.

"You went without US?" Ron asked.

"Well, you guys were off snogging somewhere." Harry argued. "I wanted to offer, but you two were having SUCH a good time."

Ron and Hermione started blushing.

"Déjà vu." Remus said as he watched the two blush. "Reminds me of when Sirius was teasing Lily and James about snogging in the Heads Dorm** just** before they **announced **they were going out."

Lily and James had started dating before announcing it so they could have a trial period.

"How did you guys hear about this?" Harry asked his best friends and mother.

"Ginny." They all answered.

"You could hear her from the library." Ron said. "Something about letting you go to the Ministry by yourself."

"She's scarier than your mum AND Mrs. Weasley combined." Hermione said.

The Marauders shivered at the thought.

"Are you lot okay?" Elizabeth asked as she and her husband entered.

"Just dandy." Sirius said.

"I'm grounded again, aren't I?" Harry asked his mother.

"You have no idea." Lily said dangerously.

TBC


	17. Uncomfortable and Interesting Coversatio

**Chapter 17: Uncomfortable and Interesting Conversations**

A week later in the dungeons,

KNOCK KNOCK

"Enter." Snape said as he continued looking over his lesson plans.

The door opened to reveal the last person Snape expected.

"Potter?" Snape asked not revealing his shock

"Hi." Harry said very uncomfortably as he entered shutting the door behind him. "Um. I've been thinking. Not much else to do since Mum grounded me again. But, anyways, I realized I never actually thanked you for helping me out my first year at the Quidditch game."

"Don't mention it." Snape said going back to his lessons. "Ever."

"I…also wanted to thank you for all you've done with the war." Harry continued. "After all, you DID risk your life for us."

"Get to the point." Snape instructed.

"This IS the point." Harry said. "I don't expect anything from you, Dad, Sirius, Remus, or anyone else. If anything, I owe everyone. I never could have done it without everyone's help. Well, I have to go before Ron and Hermione wonder where I went."

Harry started to leave, but stopped just before opening the door

"Professor?" Harry asked. "I do have one request about the way you treat me."

"What is that?" Snape snapped.

"That you treat me as me instead of my Dad's son." Harry said. "After all, I DO have a mother whose blood also runs in my veins."

Harry left on that note.

0000

In the library with Ron and Hermione a few minutes later,

"You were WHERE?" Ron asked.

"I was talking to Professor Snape." Harry repeated.

"About WHAT?" Ron asked in shock. "Your mum looked over our Potions homework. Why have a conversation with HIM?"

""Everyone deserves chances"." Harry quoted his mother.

"We gave him a chance." Ron argued. "He treated you like dirt."

"No. He treated me as my father's son. I have a mother as well, you know." Harry corrected.

"What about me?" Lily's voice came from behind her son.

Harry turned to see Lily standing behind him.

"I just had a word with Professor Snape." Harry told her.

"What did he have to say?" Lily asked interested.

"I did most of the talking." Harry informed her.

"Let us hope it had some effect." Hermione added.

"Okay." James said as he entered with a shocked look on his face. "That was weird. Lily? Did you have a word with Snape?"

"Not lately." Lily answered. "Why?"

"He THANKED me for risking my life to save his." James said extremely confused.

"What did you SAY to him?" Hermione asked Harry.

"I simply thanked him for saving my life in first year and for risking his life in the war. Then I reminded him that I'm more than the son of James Potter." Harry said.

"Anyways." James said snapping out of his shock. "Full moon tonight. Snape gave Moony the Wolfsbane, but we can still go out."

"JAMES!" Lily scolded while pointing to Harry. "He's grounded."

"C'mon Lils." James said. "He saved the wizarding world. We both knew that he'd be risking his neck. Isn't two weeks enough?"

"Fine." Lily sighed. "Have fun."

0000

"What do you mean there was something funny about the potion!?" Sirius asked Remus one minute before the moon was scheduled to rise.

Remus had tasted something off in the Wolfsbane, but only mentioned it to Snape. Snape had merely shrugged and reminded Remus that HE didn't need to take it, so he didn't know if it was off or not. Remus had waited until everyone was gathered in the Shack before admitting it.

"We can talk about it later." Hermione said.

POP

An owl hovered where she had been standing.

"We usually wait until Moony transforms." Sirius informed the kids.

POP

"Oh." Hermione said.

"Here it comes." Harry said.

Remus braced himself.

The moon rose over the horizon and the light hit Remus.

Everyone stood back and watched Remus.

Nothing happened.

Five minutes later, still nothing.

An hour later, still nothing.

Three hours later, nothing still.

"If you need me," Harry said. "I'm going to sleep."

POP

He transformed into a panther and curled up on the bed.

"I think I'll join you." Ron said.

POP

The fox joined the large cat on the bed.

0000

The next morning at dawn,

Harry opened his eyes and noticed that the Marauders were all asleep. Hermione, Sirius, and James were in their animagi forms as well. Remus remained human.

POP

"I…I don't believe this." Harry whispered.

He walked up to the sleeping ex-Professor.

"Pro…Remus." He whispered as he gently shoot his mentor.

"Mmh." Remus groaned as he opened his eyes. "What is it, Harry?"

"Did you transform at ALL?" Harry asked.

"Not to my knowledge." Remus said rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

POP

"That must have been some powerful Wolfsbane." Ron observed as he woke up.

"I don't think it was Wolfsbane." Harry said. "I think…I think it was the cure."

POP

POP

POP

"Snivellus cured Moony?" Sirius asked as he woke up and transformed with James and Hermione.

"Apparently." James said.

Silence

"We might want to stop calling him that." James said after some thought.

"Moony?" Sirius asked.

James gave Sirius a you-know-what-I-mean look.

"Okay." Sirius said reluctantly.

TBC


	18. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

It was a good thing the Marauders did stop calling Snape by his school nickname. Once they put aside their school grudges, the tension in the school dropped significantly. Lily was able to breathe easier now that she knew her first friend in the magical world and her husband weren't going to kill each other. Of course, they weren't the best of friends, just acquaintances.

It carried on past the rest of the summer. Because of Remus' cure, which Snape got credit for, Remus went back to teaching due to popular demand. It was more than Remus' cure that made the news. The resurrection of Lily, James, Cedric, Bertha, Elizabeth, and Charles made front page. Right next to the article about Harry defeating Voldemort.

In the first potion class of the year,

"We will be starting the Felix Felicis Potion. Who, besides Miss. Granger, can inform the class of it's purpose?"

Hermione didn't even bother to raise her hand. However, after a summer of being tutored by Lily Evans Potter, Harry did.

"Potter." Snape said reluctantly.

"It causes the drinker to become extremely lucky." Harry answered.

"Correct." Snape said before mumbling something incoherently.

Unknown to everyone, five points went into Gryffindor's hourglass.

Snape then raised his wand and swished it at the blackboard. A list of ingredients appeared.

"There's the list of ingredients. Get to it." Snape instructed.

The students went to the supply cabinet and got the material.

About halfway through the class, Snape went walking around observing the students.

"Get to work Malfoy." Snape said to Malfoy as the blond was getting ready to taunt Harry about parentage. "Potter! Watch where you put your material."

Harry looked and noticed a few ingredients were about to fall into the cauldron. He managed to save them just in time.

"Thanks for the warning." Harry said absentmindedly.

"You would have blown up the class." Snape scolded.

Neville timidly raised his hand.

"What is it Longbottom?" Snape snapped.

"Is - Is this right?" Neville asked.

Snape looked at the potion. He leaned over and sniffed it.

"It's coming along." Snape told the boy. "Get back to work."

Neville turned to Harry with a confused look. Harry merely shrugged.

He didn't think he'd EVER understand the Potions Master.

The End

A/N: Now that I've read the seventh book and know the truth about Snape, I decided I pick on him enough with the Potion Mistake Series. I felt he needed a break. So, he got it in this story.


End file.
